Book Description

Engendering Social Policy brings new and fresh perspectives to the question of how social policy constructs gendered social relations. With the restructuring of welfare firmly back on the political agenda, in the context of a reassertion that traditional families are the backbone of society, this book raises important issues for students, academics and practitioners grappling with social policy issues at the end of the millennium. Articles in the collection draw on a diversity of theoretical and methodological perspectives engaging with issues that have vexed feminist analysts and activists over more than two decades. The collection explores how social policy constructs gendered relations, the difference/equality debate, representations and discourses of gender in social policy, the tensions and issues associated with restructuring domestic relations, and feminist alternatives to mainstream social policy solutions. The book adopts a comparative and international perspective taking on board the importance of global changes as well as illustrating its argument with practices and research from a number of countries. This book is essential reading for those interested in seriously addressing questions of gender and social policy in an international framework.