Results by title

An in-depth analysis of new parents’ experiences with parental leave, family care, work, intimacy, and gender equity.

Through a longitudinal qualitative comparative analysis of mixed-sex parent couples in England who do (not) share parental leave post birth of their first child, Caring is Sharing? explores how these couples make parental leave decisions during their transition into parenthood, as well as how these decisions shape their work and family care practices during and after leave. The study shows that men's and women’s visions and practices of family life are rooted in ideals of appropriate intimate relations and negotiated with real and imagined reactions from peers, wider family, and colleagues in a highly gendered UK. In so doing, this book highlights the intersections of intimacy and equality, contributing to debates around the stalled gender revolution and using UK parental leave policies to drive effective change in gender relations and family life.

A global study of the effect of COVID-19 on families.

COVID-19 turned the world as we knew it upside down, impacting families around the world in profound ways. Seeking to understand this global experience, Family in the Time of COVID brings together case studies from ten countries across the world that explore how local responses to the pandemic shaped and were shaped by understandings and practices of family life.

Carried out by an international team during the first year of the pandemic, these in-depth, longitudinal, qualitative investigations examined the impact of the pandemic on families and relationships across diverse contexts and cultures. They looked at how families made sense of complex lockdown laws, how they coped with collective worry about the unknown, managed their finances, fed themselves, and got to grips with online work and schooling to understand better how life had transformed (or not). In short, the research revealed their everyday joys and struggles in times of great uncertainty.

Each case study follows the same methodology revealing experiences in Argentina, Chile, Pakistan, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. They show how local government responses were understood and responded to by families and how different cultures and life circumstances impacted everyday life during the pandemic. Ultimately the analysis demonstrates how experiences of global social upheaval are shaped by international and local policies, as well as the sociocultural ideas and practices of diverse families.