I thought this would be a great time to mention some of my favorite authors, some of whom were writing back then:

CJ Cherryh, Joan Vinge, Andre Norton, Anne McCaffrey, CS Friedman, Lynn Flewelling, Michelle West (Sagara).

I'm particularly struck by how much current events remind me of CJ Cherryh's work. She has a heartrending depiction of refugees in (I think) Downbelow Station that troubles me often.