ABSTRACT
As outlined in Chapter 1 this book examines the interrelationships between the triad of the family, labour market and the state. Hirdmann (Chapter 3) conceptualised this relationship in terms of a gender contract. She argued that in Sweden the breadwinner/housewife gender contract was in turn replaced by an equality contract. The as yet unattained ideal is an equal status contract where both men and women share domestic and paid work responsibilities. Within this conceptual framework Ireland has a breadwinner/housewife gender contract.
