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The article discusses research on work and family, employment policy, and social goals in France, Germany, Great Britain, and the Netherlands. The topics include: the state's role in balancing the labor-relations issue of employment and family responsibilities; the outlook for flexible working hours, a combination of paid and unpaid work, and childcare services; social policy in European Union countries that supports the employment of women; patterns of labor market behavior; and parental attitudes about caring for children that involves taking a leave from work.

This article compares recent social policy reforms in respect of lone-parent families in three different national contexts: France, the Netherlands and the UK. In all three countries there is an increasing focus on activation policies to promote employment among lone parents. The authors examine whether this common framework of activation has led to a policy convergence across these three countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]