family policies

• china one child policy

  1970-2015

  couples who broke policy would have to pay a fine

  women pressured to undergo sterilisation after first child

  2015- two-child policy

  2021- three-child policy
• communist russia

  1980s

  restricted contraception and abortion

  made divorce difficult

  legal age of marriage to 15
• functionalism

  see policies as helping families to perform their functions more effectively

  society is built on harmony and consensus
• fletcher

  argues introduction of health, education and housing policies has led to development of the welfare state that supports the family in performing its functions more effectively

  e.g introduction of NHS helps the family today take better care of its members when they are sick
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  donzelot

  policing the family

  has a conflict view on society

  sees policies as a from of control and power of the state

  e.g uses Foucaults theory on surveillance. Professionals exercise their power over clients by using expert knowledge
• condry


  links to donzelot

  state seek to control family by imposing compulsory parenting orders

  parents of young offenders or badly behaved children may be forced to attend parenting classes to learn the 'correct' way to bring up their children
• new right

  strongly in favour of nuclear family

  policies have created culture of dependency and threatens the nuclear family
• almond

  new right thinker

  law making divorce easier undermine the idea of marriage

  introduction of civil partnerships and gay marriage shows how the state no longer sees heterosexual relationships as dominant
• Murray


  • new right thinker - dependency culture
  • families are provided generous welfare benefits
  • e.g council housing for unmarried teenage mothers- argues this encourages young girls to become pregnant
  • undermines traditional family structure, rewards irresponsible behaviour
  • leads to growth of lone parent families, boys growing up with no father figure raises crime rates
• new right solution 


  • argue policy must be changed
  • cuts in welfare spending and restrictions
  • e.g denying council housing to young women - removes incentive of teen pregnancies
  • advocate for polices that support nuclear family e.g making absent fathers financially responsible for children
• conservative gov 1979-97

  • section 28- thatchers gov banned promotion of homosexuality e.g ban on teaching
  • set up Child Support Agency to enforce maintenance payments by absent parents
  • introduced married persons tax allowance- incentive for couples to marry
  • benefits cut back - encourage parents to become more responsible for child
• new labour gov 1997-2010

  • introduced Parenting Orders for parents of truants and young offenders
  • longer maternity leave- three months unpaid leave
  • paid paternity leave- men able to get 2 weeks paid leave
  • civil partnership act- same-sex couple be legally recognised
  • working families tax credit- parents can claim tax relief on childcare costs
  • adoption and children act- allowed same-sex couples to adopt
• new labour 1997-2010

  • similar to new right argue family is the bedrock of society
  • prefer nuclear family
  • reject view of new right that there should only be one earner (male)- favour dual-earner family
• chester

  dual earner neo conventional family

  both man and women go out to work and provide for family
• conservative gov 2015- now

  conservatives have found it difficult to maintain a consistent policy on family

  divided between modernisers and traditionalists
• Hayton

  conservatives split into 2

  modernisers- recognise that families are now more diverse

  traditionalists- favour new right view reject diversity
• coalition gov 2010-2015


  conservatives shared power with Liberal Democrats

  • same sex marriage
  • shared parental leave
• feminism

  policies support patriarchy

  • tax and benefits policies- assume husbands are main wage earners
  • policies governing school timetables- makes it difficult for mothers to work full time
  • maternity leave policies- more generous than paternity so assumes mothers are more responsible for infant
• drew

  gender regimes- describes how social policies in different countries can either encourage or discourage gender equality

  2 types: familistic and individualistic

  1. familistic - where policies are based on traditional gender division e.g Greece- little state welfare so women rely heavily on extended kin
  2. individualistic- policies are based on belief that husband and wives should be treated the same e.g sweden- equal opportunities policies, parental leave
• austerity 


  economic term to describe the measures employed by governments to reduce their debts

  reducing public spending, tax increases
• conservative policies 2015- now

  • universal credit - means tested credit paid to one member of the family that replaced other forms of benefit
  • closure of sure start - left children and families vulnerable
  • 2022- marriage age raised from 16-18
  • 2024 - 15 hours free childcare for children from 9 months
• direct policies 


  policies aimed at changing or reinforcing family structures and households
• indirect policies 


  policies that may not have intended to impact families and households