feminist perspective on family policy

• outline overall feminist view of social policy

  social policy ensure maintenance of patriarchal nuclear family
• feminist view on social policy - Land (rad fem)


  social policies assume nuclear family is normal family so policy is designed to favour this and discourage diversity
• feminist view on social policy - leonard (rad fem) 


  even policies that support women support patriarchy.

  extended maternity leave > paternity leave reinforces role of women as primary carer
• feminist view of social policy - Drew (lib fem)


  familistic gender regimes - policies based on traditional division of labour. e.g., greece - little welfare state/state funded childcare

  
  

  individualistic gender regimes - policies based on equality. e.g., sweden - women and wife equally responsible for breadwinning and domestic tasks.
• lib fem view on social policy

  changes such as the Equal pay act and increasingly generous maternity leave and pay are sufficient to bring about gender equality
• social policies supported by lib feminists

  divorce act 1969 - women can divorce on equal footing to men

  equal pay act 1972

  increasingly generous maternity cover and pay made it easier for women to return to work
• rad fem view on social policy and the family

  patriarchy is so entrenched in society that policy changes alone are insufficient to bring about gender equality
• red fem - sexism still exists in sphere of work


  little evidence of 'new man' who does their equal share of domestic chores

  overly generous maternity cover compared to paternity cover reinforces notion of women as primary care giver
• dunscombe and marsden - rad fem

  women suffer from triple shift where they have to do paid, domestic and emotional work