Central and Eastern Europe and the CIS have a population of more than 550 million people. In 1989, this region consisted of only nine independent countries. Today, the number of countries has increased to 27. The establishment of so many new countries has been a major factor contributing to the tremendous increase in migration, also from developing countries, to and within the ECE region, since the 1990s. Migration patterns vary considerably across countries in the ECE region and women and men display different patterns of migration within and outside their country. Women have traditionally travelled shorter distances with migration rate being higher within the same province or from rural to rural or rural to urban areas. In contrast, men have generally been more likely to migrate longer distances as well as internationally, in their search for better work opportunities.

 Although existing evidence suggests that women are increasingly migrating internationally as autonomous economic actors, many migrant women still have limited access to employment and social welfare programmes because of their status as dependants. Migrant women commonly face double discrimination in the labour market, being both female and foreign, and generally earn less than native-born women and men, and migrant men. Considerable increase in trafficking of women and girls from the CEE and CIS, for purposes of sexual exploitation has occurred during the 1990s. The majority of women involved in trafficking are sexually exploited for prostitution; a minority are engaged as domestic help, usually with little or no pay and no contract. Human trafficking has become one of the most profitable illegal trades in the ECE region, and penalties for trafficking in women have not been severe and convictions are rare.

 Examples of policies in the region:
Norway: projects on immigrant and refugee women