ABSTRACT
At its inception the only social policy the European Economic Community had was a commitment to gender equality. Some European countries have considered it a responsibility of government to try and "reconcile" paid and unpaid work. In northern European countries, social security benefits have facilitated the transformation of the traditional family form and the formation of autonomous households by lone mothers, while also enforcing traditional assumptions about men's position as primary earners and their obligation to maintain, in the form of a cohabitation rule. The problem of reconciling paid and unpaid work is particularly acute in the case of lone mothers, who form an increasing proportion of European households. Social reality demands that Europe address the issue of the relationship between paid and unpaid work if women are to have equal opportunities, but increasingly if women are avoid bearing the brunt of increasing social inequalities and high rates of poverty.
