Women Men Work And Family In Europe

Social changes including an increase in dual-earner families, declining fertility, and growing problems of work-life 'balance' are underway as more women, particularly mothers, enter and remain in paid employment. The authors explore this in a number of European countries (Britain, France, The Netherlands, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Portugal).

These are just some of the questions this controverisal book asks in its analysis of the European labour markets. By bringing together contributions from all over Europe, Women, Work and the Family in Europe outlines the similarities and differences between countries in terms of the problems of reconciling work and family. In doing so it questions the division of labour, not just in the labour market but also in the home, reviewing, for example, fatherhood and the effect of work commitments on men's time spent with their families. Contributions range from a study of family policies to the care of the elderly; from home working to gender roles, motherhood and class. Clearly written, systematic and comprehensive, this book reflects the growing interest in the European context and will appeal to students of social policy and European studies as well as all those involved in women's studies and sociology. Ruth Emerek, University of Aalborg, Denmark, Susan Mc Rae, Oxford Brookes University, Yvonne Hirdman, Sweden, Eileen Drew and Evelyn Mahon, both at Trinity College,

Gender equality has been one of the defining projects of European welfarestates. It has proven an elusive goal, not just because of political opposition but also due to a lack of clarity in how to best frame equality and take account of family-related considerations. This wide-ranging book assembles the most pertinent literature and evidence to provide a critical understanding of how contemporary state policies engage with gender inequalities.

Organizations today are facing heightened challenges in their efforts to perform effectively. These challenges are reflected in the failure of many long-standing organizations and the shortened tenure of senior level executives. There is increasing agreement that the unique competitive advantage organizations have today lies in their people, their human resource management practices and their cultures. All other elements of production can be readily obtained, bought or copied. We are now in the era of human capital; to be successful organizations need to unleash the talents of their people. Fortunately we now have considerable understanding of what high performing organizations look like. However, a large gap still exists between what we know and what managers actually do. With contributions from a team of leading academics and practitioners, Building More Effective Organizations provides an extensive survey of human resource management and the organizational practices associated with the high performance of individuals.

This collaborative study provides a subtle and multi-layered understanding of the transition to parenthood within a cross-national comparative framework.

The time that most women were full-time housewives has gone. European women today are well educated and have a strong orientation towards employment and career making. Balancing work and family care responsibilities is becoming an important issue in many households. Both women and men look for ways to combine tasks. Strategies aimed to reconcile employment and family life differ between countries and depend on the availability of work-family arrangements such as child care, leave, and flexible working hours. This volume discusses government and workplace policies designed to enable employees to combine paid work with family responsibilities in various national contexts. Experts from the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Italy and Sweden discuss the number and nature of facilities available in their country, the role of employers and the impact of the welfare state regime. The book gives an overview of the various political debates in Europe and of the provisions that have been realised. Questions raised are: how do government policies interact with practices of organisations? Is it true that an active public policy prevents firms from realising work-family arrangements or does it invite employers to create supplementary provisions? These and other questions explore ways in which reconciliation of work and family life can be achieved.

Presenting studies of the situation on gender inequalities and associated pattern of work and welfare in all southern European countries, this work focuses on the interaction of the three major societal institutions - the State, the family and the labour market.