The work-family policies of Sweden and France are often held up as models for other nations to follow, yet political structures and resources can present obstacles to fundamental change that must be taken into account. Patricia Boling argues that we need to think realistically about how to create political and policy change in this vital area. She evaluates policy approaches in the US, France, Germany and Japan, analyzing their policy histories, power resources, and political institutions to explain their approaches, and to propose realistic trajectories toward change. Arguing that much of the story lies in the way that job markets are structured, Boling shows that when women have reasonable chances of resuming their careers after giving birth, they are more likely to have children than in countries where even brief breaks put an end to a career, or where motherhood restricts them to part-time work.

Hospitality is something of a modern paradox. On the one hand, hospitality connotes a nicety or pleasantry easily undervalued as a ritual or formality devoid of epistemological or ethical content. On the other hand, the rise in international conflict and violence, the decline of civil speech, and the increased hostility toward immigrants points to the dire need for hospitable responses to mitigate tensions. Hospitality represents a further paradox for feminism. Historically, women have been saddled with disproportionate responsibility for hospitality and have also been treated as unwelcome guests in so many arenas. For these reasons, feminists have good reason to be wary of addressing hospitality. Yet, feminist theory has taken the lead on developing ontological, epistemological, and ethical approaches to connectedness and relationality such that addressing hospitality appears to be an appropriate extrapolation. Feminism and Hospitality is a collection that negotiates amidst these intriguing paradoxes. Feminism and Hospitality: Gender in the Host/Guest Relationship is the first collection of original works to bring a feminist analysis to issues and theories of personal, political, economic, and artistic hospitality. Furthermore, because feminist theorists have brought so much attention to the nature of human relationships, this volume employs a fresh analysis beyond the tradition in political theory.

The work-family policies of Sweden and France are often held up as models for other nations to follow, yet political structures and resources can present obstacles to fundamental change that must be taken into account. Patricia Boling argues that we need to think realistically about how to create political and policy change in this vital area. She evaluates policy approaches in the US, France, Germany and Japan, analyzing their policy histories, power resources, and political institutions to explain their approaches, and to propose realistic trajectories toward change. Arguing that much of the story lies in the way that job markets are structured, Boling shows that when women have reasonable chances of resuming their careers after giving birth, they are more likely to have children than in countries where even brief breaks put an end to a career, or where motherhood restricts them to part-time work.