The first demographic transition changed the face of the western world as thoroughly as did the Industrial Revolution. As couples began to have fewer children women were released from the heavy burden of endless pregnancies and extended periods of child care. Even though this profound process of change has been extensively researched women were rarely pictured as decisionmakers concerning fertility and family. Moreover men and women were mostly not perceived as having potentially differing interests in sexuality and childbearing. This volume contains papers delivered at the conference Were Women Present at the Demographic Transition which was held at the Radboud University Nijmegen 2021 May 2005. The contributions throw light on the active role women played in the fertility decline as well as on the complex process of decisionmaking between husbands and wives.