Hardly any broad analyses exist to link the vast contemporary change in life
patterns both to changes in women's lives (rising employment, declining
fertility, and changing use of time) and to changes in men's lives, the gender
contract, and the economy, as well as to national social policies. This book
shows not only similar trends across countries but also the likely direction of
future change, particularly as related to economic growth, gender equity, and
the well-being of families and children. The first chapter, an overview by the
editors, provides a comprehensive conceptual framework for understanding how the
economic, sociological, and cultural changes have produced new individual life
patterns.