Women, Men, Work and Family in Europe

by Crompton, Rosemary; Lewis, Suzan; Lyonette, Clare

• ISBN13: 9781403987198
• ISBN10: 140398719X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-05-15
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

Increasing the number of women (including mothers) in employment has become a major European objective, for reasons of gender equality and economic regeneration. Their historical placement in the home may not have been fair to women, but it did ensure that caring and domestic work took place. The new scenario has brought with it considerable social change, including the erosion of the traditional family unit and growing problems of work-life, balance. In this book an international team of experts addresses these topics, drawing on original quantitative and qualitative research from Britain, France, the Netherlands, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Portugal. Many of the chapters undertake comparative analysis, drawing on evidence from these countries, to present a realistic evaluation of the policy options. Wider issues, such as the consequences of these changes for gender and class inequalities, are also addressed. Book jacket.

Author Biography

ROSEMARY CROMPTON is Professor of Sociology at City University, London UK.

SUZAN LEWIS is Professor of Organizational Psychology at Middlesex University, UK. She co-ordinated a recently completed EU Framework Five project, Gender, Parenthood and the Changing Workplace (Transitions) and is a partner in a new EU project on Quality of Life in a Changing Europe.

CLARE LYONETTE is a Research Officer at City University, London, UK.

Rosemary and Clare are currently working on a project in the ESRC Gender Network which involves both qualitative and quantitative methods to map the work and family careers of men and women in four different occupational sectors.

Table of Contents

List of Tables	p. vii
List of Figures	p. x
Acknowledgements	p. xi
Notes on the Contributors	p. xii
Introduction: The Unravelling of the 'Male Breadwinner' Model - and Some of its Consequences	p. 1
Evolutions and Approaches to Equitable Divisions of Paid Work and Care in Three European Countries: a Multi-level Challenge	p. 17
Social Policy in Europe: its Impact on Families and Work	p. 35
Fertility Rates and Mothers' Employment Behaviour Comparative Perspective: Similarities and Differences in Six European Countries'	p. 58
Fertility Decline, the Postponement of Childbearing and the Increase in Childlessness in Central and Eastern Europe: a Gender Equity Approach	p. 76
Main Patterns in Attitudes to the Articulation Between Work and Family Life: a Cross-National Analysis	p. 86
Occupational Class, Country and the Domestic Division of Labour	p. 116
Gender, Social Class and Work-Life Balance in the New Economy	p. 133
Care Capital, Stress and Satisfaction	p. 152
The Workplace as an Arena for Negotiating the Work-Family Boundary: a Case Study of Two Swedish Social Services Agencies	p. 171
Women's Occupational Patterns and Work-Family Arrangements: do National and Organisational Policies Matter?	p. 190
Employment, the Family and 'Work-Life Balance' in France	p. 210
Continuities, Change and Transformations	p. 230
Bibliography	p. 245
Index	p. 264
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