This edited collection assembles cutting-edge comparative policy research on contemporary policies relevant to gender and workplace issues. Contributors analyze contemporary gender-related employment policies ranging from parental leave and maternity programs, sexual harassment, and work/life balance to gender mainstreaming. Gender and Work in Comparative Perspective thoroughly illustrates the richness of understanding that can be gained through the juxtaposition of a variety of research methodologies focused on a common theme. The side-by-side presentation of single case studies on countries such as Canada, the United States, Germany, and Japan allows readers to compare and understand a wide range of policy options, thereby integrating what are usually separate bodies of research on the role of gender in welfare state developments, employment transformations, workplace policies, and work experience. An essential tool for scholars in many fields, this volume clearly illustrates how national approaches to gender and workplace policy form a spectrum of alternatives that, while rooted in the historical and social cultures of individual nation-states, are also subject to similar international global and economic forces.

Contributions by: Heidi Berggren, Katherine Bird, Karin Gottschall, Linda Haas, Wendy Hassett, Ilse Lenz, Ulrike Liebert, Karen Lindenberg, Jacqueline O'Reilly, Glenda Roberts, Eileen Trzcinski, Sylvia Walby, Steven K. Wisensale, Alison Woodward, Kathrin Zippel