The Politics of Work-Family Policies

Erscheinungsjahr 2015
ISBN: 978-1-107-09812-1
Verlag: Cambridge University Press

Buch, Englisch, 300 Seiten, Format (B × H): 157 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 574 g

The work-family policies of Sweden and France are often held up as models for other nations to follow, yet political structures and resources can present obstacles to fundamental change that must be taken into account. Patricia Boling argues that we need to think realistically about how to create political and policy change in this vital area. She evaluates policy approaches in the US, France, Germany and Japan, analyzing their policy histories, power resources, and political institutions to explain their approaches, and to propose realistic trajectories toward change. Arguing that much of the story lies in the way that job markets are structured, Boling shows that when women have reasonable chances of resuming their careers after giving birth, they are more likely to have children than in countries where even brief breaks put an end to a career, or where motherhood restricts them to part-time work.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Boling, Patricia

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Arbeit/Sozialpädagogik Soziale Dienste, Soziale Organisationen
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Betriebswirtschaft Bereichsspezifisches Management Personalwesen, Human Resource Management
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Systeme Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface; 1. Why work-family policies matter, and how best to study them; 2. Demographic and policy trends in OECD countries; 3. Familialist policies in France; 4. Germany enacts change; 5. Japan confronts low fertility and rapid aging; 6. The US relies on families and markets; 7. Evaluating work-family policies; 8. Why the US can't be Sweden.

Über Autor(innen)

Boling, Patricia
Patricia Boling is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Purdue University. She is interested in how issues housed in the private sphere of the family get translated into negotiable political issues, and has written a book about the politics of intimate life, edited a book on new reproductive technologies, and authored various articles and chapters related to public-private distinctions in the US and in Japan. Having lived in Japan for three years, her research agenda has considered various practices that mostly occur in the intimacy of the body or family that raise issues of justice and equality both in Japan and around the world.