We think of our family life as very personal, but in fact it is shaped by influences well beyond our control. This book identifies the ways in which family and personal life in three "settler" societies - Australia, New Zealand and Canada - has been shaped by colonization, immigration, globalization, demographic changes, law and policy.;Baker shows that these three countries, each a former colony, developed similar family trends and similar family policies. Strongly gendered patterns of paid and unpaid work played a major role in family life. The family practices of indigenous people were largely overlooked, as were those of recent immigrant groups. However local conditions also produced significant differences in family experiences among the three countries.;Richly illustrated with examples, comparative data and textual sources, the book provides a broad-ranging analysis of the family which should appeal to students, researchers and policy-makers.

With poverty, unemployment, and one-parent families on the rise in most Western democracies, government assistance presents an increasingly urgent and complex problem. This is the first study to explore Canada's family policies in an international context. Maureen Baker looks at the successes and failures of social programs in other countries in search of solutions that might work in Canada.

Baker has chosen seven industrialized countries for her comparative study: Australia, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These countries experience social and economic strains similar to those felt in Canada, and though they share certain policy solutions, major differences in policy remain. Baker considers which of the policies in these countries are most effective in reducing poverty, enhancing family life, and improving the status of women, then applies her findings to the Canadian situation.

Bringing together research and statistics from the fields of demography, political science, economics, sociology, women's studies, and social policy, this rich, multidisciplinary study provides a unique resource for anyone interested in Canadian family policy.