This indispensable reference--published to coincide with the UN-sponsored world conference marking the end of the Decade for Women--combines essays by leading women writers with comprehensive, up-to-date statistics. The UN Decade for Women (1975-85) was an unprecedented international effort to collect information about the position of women a decade after the start of the women"s movement. The results of this effort, augmented by research carried out by Oxford University"s Centre for Cross-Cultural Research on Women, are reported here in summary form and in tables, graphs, and charts. In addition, the book includes essays by ten leading writers--five women from the Third World reporting on conditions in wealthier countries, and five women from industrialized nations writing about developing countries, resulting in a fascinating series of cross-cultural viewpoints. Authoritative both in its research and its range of contributors, Women: A World Report stands as the definitive work on the state of the world"s women.