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A better work-life balance for working parents has become an imperative social policy issue in most contemporary welfare states and sets two objectives: to increase flexible labour forces as well as the number of daycare facilities and to improve childre&n's overall education. Drawing upon up-to-date empirical data, the volume provides detailed insights in policies targeting families, above all, women as (to be) parents and workers. It compares experiences made in Nordic countries during the last 20 years. These countries have become paragons for policies that apparently work in favour of improving the work-life balance, equal employment opportunities and public child care. The Netherlands, Germany and the UK are taken in as countries that provide contrasts in employment patterns and family-related policies. The volume is a timely contribution to ongoing debates on ‘policies that work’ and related quests for policy-learning in regard to boosting female employment, maintaining, even increasing, birth-rates and investing in human resources.
Part I Nordic welfare states - 'Defamilisation' and 'Individualisation' - Family Policy. The Case of Sweden - Current Issues of Family Policy in Denmark - Family Policy in Finland - Family Policy in Norway - Family Policy in Iceland: An Overview - Part II Varieties of 'Familism' - Family Policy in the UK - Private Responsibility and Some Support. Family Policy in the Netherlands - Family Policies in Germany - Comparison and Conclusion
with articles by Ulla Björnberg and Lillemor Dahlgren, Peter Abrahamson and Cecilie Wehner, Katja Forssén, Anne-Mari Jaakola, and Veli-Matti Ritakallio, Anne Skevik and Aksel Hatland, Gudný Björk Eydal and Stefán Ólafsson, Trudie Knijn, Sigrid Leitner, Ilona Ostner,and Christoph Schmitt
Overview
A better work-life balance for working parents has become an imperative social policy issue in most contemporary welfare states and sets two objectives: to increase flexible labour forces as well as the number of daycare facilities and to improve childre&n's overall education. Drawing upon up-to-date empirical data, the volume provides detailed insights in policies targeting families, above all, women as (to be) parents and workers. It compares experiences made in Nordic countries during the last 20 years. ...