This book presents a collection of essays on the effect of national policies and practices on women's access to higher education, the type of courses in which women are enrolled, women's roles as academics, and how the outcomes of higher education affect women in the academic workforce and the economy. Various countries are represented in the discussions: the Soviet Union; the People's Republic of China; Peru; Sweden; the United States; Norway; Israel; Nigeria; India; and Australia. Included in the volume are issues relating to the impact of study abroad, privatization, the fiscal crises of the 1980s, and revolutionary politics on gender-based inequalities in higher education in a range of national settings. Contributing authors and their essays are as follows: "Women and Higher Education: Trends and Perspectives" (Gail P. Kelly, Sheila S. Slaughter); "Women's Education in the USSR: 1950-1985" (Patricia M. Ratliff); "Continuity and Change in Women's Access to Higher Education in the People's Republic of China, 1930-1980" (Grace C. L. Mak); "Women in Higher Education in Africa: Access and Choices" (Eva M. Rathgeber); "Feminist Reflections on the Peruvian University Politics" (Nelly P. Stromquist); "Public and Higher Education Policies Influencing African-American Women" (Beverly Lindsay); "Educational Reforms--Women's Life Patterns: A Swedish Case Study" (Inga Elgqvist-Saltzman); "Public-Private Tendencies within Higher Education in Norway from a Women's Perspective" (Hildur Ve, Nina Fjelde); "Women in Higher Education: Effects of Crises and Change" (Margaret Sutherland); "Women in the Academic Profession: Evolution or Stagnation?" (Marie Eliou); "Women at the Top: Female Full Professors in Higher Education in Israel" (Nina Toren); "The Situation of Women in Research Universities in the United States: Within the Inner Circles of Academic Power" (Kathryn M. Moore, Mary Ann D. Sagaria); "Influences on Women's Entry into Male-Dominated Occupations" (Corinna A. Ethington, John C. Smart, Ernest T. Pascarella); "Access, Equity, and Outcomes: Women Students' Participation in Nigerian Higher Education" (Karen Biraimah); "Study Abroad: A Competitive Edge for Women" (Susan Opper); "Gender, Wages, and the Labour Market for Tertiary Graduates in Australia" (Jan Currie); "Feminist Scholarship and the American Academy" (Gail P. Kelly, Carolyn Korsmeyer);"Feminist Scholarship as a Vocation" (Patricia J. Gumport); "Integrating Women into the Curriculum: Multiple Motives and Mixed Emotions" (Patricia MacCorquodale, Judy Lensink); and "Women's Studies in India" (Suma Chitnis). The book concludes with a bibliography by David H. Kelley which lists approximately 600 published works in four languages on women's higher education world-wide. Includes an index. (GLR)