Families and social policy

• Equal pay act 1970 / equality act 2010 / sex discrimination act 1975

  • Allowed women to have the same employment rights as men; amended to include transgender and equality for men.
  • This created more equality in the family as the women could now go out to work and take the instrumental role in the same way a man could.
  • This could explain the rise in divorce as women are more independent, rise in lone parenting and the decline in traditional gender roles in the nuclear family
• Divorce reform act 1969

  • enabled divorce to become legal
  • Allowed easier and quicker divorces; allowed women to instigate divorce without needing to provide evidence of adultery or cruelty; changed the social norm of marriage for life.
  • This allowed unhappy couples to split which would account for the rise in divorce and single parent families. It can also be used when explaining the dark side of family – victims of domestic abuse can now leave the marriage.
  • This would also support feminist views that women no longer needed men and postmodern views that we are no longer tied to tradition or religious views.
• abortion act 1961


  • made it legal to get an abortion
  • Contraception available to married women 1961.
  • Allowed women to control the size of their family.
  • This allowed women to choose when to have children which resulted in more freedom and equality – this criticises Engels view that women are there to produce children
• children act 2004


  • Protection of children from neglect and abuse.
  • This can be used to support claims that the family has become more child-centred.
  • It also helps explain the rise in divorce as many couples raising children in a family with domestic abuse would be forced to separate if the victim of abuse wanted to keep the children.
• civil partnership act 2005 / same sex act 2015


  • Allowed legal status to same sex couples.
  • Allowed equality for same sex couples.
  • Explains rise in secularisation and rise in same sex families.
• the childcare act 2006

  • Provided free nursery care for 4-year olds (then amended to 3 year olds and currently for 2 year olds).
  • Allowed women to return to work earlier.
  • This allowed women to return to work after having children so contributes to changing gender roles
  • It also would allow parents to raise children on their own as they could work to support their children – rise in single parent families.
• working family tax credit 2011

  • Provided in work benefits for parents allowing women financial independence and allowed them to go back to work.
  • This allowed parents to be single and take on both the instrumental and expressive role – they can work part time and have their wages subsided to an amount that they could live on while they raise their children.
• cuts to social care

  • Elderly people requiring residential care or nursing care are not supported by the state if they have assets (over £25k) which means they would have to sell their homes to pay for their care.
  • This contributes to the rise in beanpole families as many families cannot or do not want to sell the family home to pay for extortionate care home costs.
  • The adult children will decide to move in with the elderly parent and care for them at home.