Gender Inequality and Welfare States in Europe

Mary Daly, Professor of Sociology and Social Policy, Department of Social Policy and Intervention, University of Oxford, UK

'Across Europe, women's lives have changed significantly in recent years, men's much less so. Gender divisions remain strong, interconnected with other forms of inequality. This engaging and wide-ranging book provides a detailed analysis of the mixed and uneven role of social policy in addressing gender inequalities across Europe. Read it to understand how we got to where we are now, and where we need to go in the future.'--Jane Millar, University of Bath, UK'Mary Daly gives us an incisive and up-to-date synthesis of what we know, and what we don't, about the part social policy plays in inequalities between women and men. Focusing on European Union countries, she traces the evolution of theory and presents comparative empirical analysis of gender inequalities in employment, material resources, and time given to the work of daily life. Finding both stasis and change, she leads us toward the next horizon of thinking about gender and social policy. This work is as readable as it is scholarly.'--Sheila Shaver, University of New South Wales, Australia'Writing from a full appreciation of the history of the fields of social policy and gender studies, in this important book Mary Daly applies evidence to theoretical perspectives to reveal the impact of public policy on the quotidian of gendered lives. Exploring differences among genders and the intersections of inequalities, she maps their management, reproduction and change by social policy, and goes on to identify key directions for future theory and research. A tour de force and compulsory reading for all.'--Jane Jenson, Université de Montréal, Canada

• Contents: Introduction 1. Women, Gender and Social Policy in Early Work 2. Contemporary Approaches to Gender and Social Policy: Bringing Scholarship up to Date Intermezzo 1 3. Income, Wealth and Poverty 4. Access to Employment 5. Inequalities of Time Use and Life Satisfaction Intermezzo 2 6. The EU, Equality and Social Policy 7. Gender and Social Policy More Broadly 8. Scoping a Future Research Agenda References Index