ABSTRACT
The family is currently a controversial topic both within the UK and Europe. While demographic trends seem to suggest that family structures and attitudes within the European Union are converging and that member states are facing similar social problems, their policy responses are very different. This book examines the differences between these national responses and that of the EU as contained in the social chapter. It analyses the key concepts underlying the formulation of family policy and illustrates it with the latest data much of it hitherto unpublished.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part One|79 pages
Constructing and Deconstructing the Family
chapter Chapter 1|21 pages
Statistical definitions of the family
chapter Chapter 2|20 pages
Institutional definitions of the family
chapter Chapter 3|19 pages
Public policy definitions of the family
chapter Chapter 4|17 pages
Sociological definitions of the family
part Two|56 pages
The Family–Employment Relationship
chapter Chapter 5|18 pages
Conceptualising women's and mothers' employment
chapter Chapter 6|16 pages
The relationship between women's paid and unpaid work
chapter Chapter 7|20 pages
Policies for women and mothers as paid workers
part Three|54 pages
From Social Policies to Family Policies