Women and Social Policy: A Reader (1997) Academic Review by 'Winnie'

Women and Social Policy: A Reader (1997) strives to bring together, in one text, the scattered literature on women and social policy. Clare Ungerson and Mary Kember are joint editors of the book, which is the second edition of this text. The book aims to be of interest to students and teachers of social policy, women's studies, social work, and nursing and health studies alike. It is divided into nine sections on women in relation to: social security and citizenship, the labour market, child care, lone mothers, housing and planning policy, education, health care, the personal social services and informal care.

Ungerson and Kember's choice of areas for discussion, provide the reader with an adequate grasp of the issues across all the social services. And each section warrants the reader with the opportunity to establish a basic introduction to the key issues within each social policy area and, to spark off further ideas and debates about these areas. The 'Health Care' section includes a thought-provoking look at reproductive technologies - a clearly contemporary issue in the area of health care (p. 308-12). I would have liked to have seen some reference made to information technologies within both the education and employment sections. The introduction of distance and online learning, in recent years, has had a major impact on women's participation in higher education and education policy, and this topic should be included and expanded on in later editions of this text.

Each section is prefaced by a short introduction by either Ungerson or Kember. This is one of the strengths of the book as these introductions clearly outline for the reader some of the issues discussed in each set of readings. In the 'Women and Housing and Planning Policy' section the introduction clearly points to the key issues that arise from the subsequent readings; 'access', the 'gendered perspective of domestic architecture', and 'safety' (p. 181-186).

The introductions by the editors are so stimulating that I was particularly disappointed that the reader had not been provided with an overall conclusion to each set of readings and, ultimately, a concluding chapter for the whole text. Each section ends with the last reading and, the book thus ends very abruptly with the final section. While, Ungerson and Kember, pre-empt "…that no single book can cover all the topics that are important…" (p. 2), I can not fully accept that many more key issues could not have been briefly outlined in a concluding chapter; summarising the main issues discussed in the previous sections, and highlighting the key areas for further study. A synopsis of the key points would have also reinforced the main issues highlighted by the text.

In all sections the reader is guided towards additional reading on the various topics. Ungerson and Kember point the reader to further reading in a number of ways. First they refer to a number of studies in the course of their introductions. Second, they append a bibliography at the end of each section. The bibliographies act as useful reading lists for those who are interested in the topic under discussion. Third, many of the individual readings refer to and quote from other authors. In the 'Women and Informal Care' section Jenny Morris gives a stimulating reading providing extracts from other writers, which, consequently invites the reader to 'look up' these authors. I think the reader might have been even better served, however, by having an additional further reading section of titles, that were not directly referred to within the book, as in the first edition (Ungerson 1985).

The inclusion of a further reading section may have been useful in bringing the text up-to-date at the last minute. As with all published work, especially with the rise of online publications, texts can be criticised for being out-of-date by the time they reach the library shelves. This book is no different, the majority of the readings were written in the 1980s and early 1990s. Michelle Stanworth's piece 'Just Three Quiet Girls' which was written in 1983, and is the only remaining excerpt from the previous edition. We can only guess why Ungerson and Kember choose to retain this reading, in the second edition. It is my belief that 'Just Three Quiet Girls' is included because it is an inviting piece, which is accessible and easy to read and can offer the reader a somewhat historical perspective. It would be easy to accuse this book of being out-of-date, in 2002, even the most recent pieces were written nearly 10 years ago. However, I suggest that this would be a naïve assumption to make. While, many of the extracts are dated, they remain interesting and stimulating readings. Even in cases where legislation has changed, for example, the maternity services discussed in the House of Commons Select Committee on Health (p. 286), the content of the article, and the key issues it considers are of importance and add to the historical perspective. It is often useful to look at the past to gain a perspective on the present and Women and Social Policy provides the reader with the opportunity to do so.

On a technical note, the page numbering found on the contents page, under both the Housing and Education sections were incorrect (p.vi). While, this is a nuisance in any book, it is of particular concern for a reader such as this, because, as we know, students are often directed to read certain pages and incorrect page numbering can often lead to confusion.

The use of colour on the front cover of the book is interesting. The title is illustrated in several colours and, as such, helps to emphasises the many differing aspects of social policy that are covered in the book - education, employment, housing and so on. It also adds to the aim of the text - to look at different groups of women. In total, I believe that the use of several colours on the cover illustrates the diversity of the book. In stark contrast, the photograph is in black and white and is similar to the picture used in the first edition - an older woman and a female carer. The photograph is dated and uninspiring. It does not illustrate to the reader that this text has new ideas and covers more aspects of social policy than the first edition.

Most of the extracts in Women and Social Policy are well written, informative accessible, and intellectually stimulating. Many of the readings include quotations from the research participants. 'Just Three Quiet Girls' is particularly illustrative of this. The inclusion of quotations is beneficial because it allows the participants 'voice' to be heard and can help reinforce the author's argument considerably. However, Stanworth's piece is lacking in author commentary and, as a result, I was left feeling like I had been subjected to an overdose of anecdotal quotations with very little argument. In comparison, Hilary Graham strikes a good balance in 'Finding a Home'. The quotations from 'the women' are somewhat shocking and ultimately thought provoking and 'bring home' Graham's argument. As a result, Graham's argument is explicit throughout the reading, and clearly points out the catch-22 dilemma for women in public sector housing (p 187-202).

Ungerson and Kember, in their joint introduction state that one of the main aims of the book is to draw upon feminist analysis which focuses on, both women as 'other' in relation to men, but also focuses on differences between women and the way in which some women - particularly women with disabilities and black women - have been defined as 'other' in comparison to white, able-bodied, well-educated and middle-class women (p.2). It is surprising to note that only one of the titles from a list of 27 explicitly refers to any of the following issues: class, ethnicity, age and disability. Rosemary Deem's 'The New School Governing Bodies - Are Gender and Race on the Agenda?' (p. 254) from the 'Women and Education' section is the 'lone ranger'. A good attempt is made to meet this aim, and on the whole, the book covers the said issues, however, some sections do this better than others. The 'Housing and Planning Policy' and 'Child Care' sections are particularly indicative of this. The 'Housing' section clearly gives consideration to ethnicity (p. 194), age (p. 197), disability, (p.198) and class (p. 209). In contrast, the 'Child Care' section, fails completely to look beyond the "…white, well-educated and able-bodied women of the second wave feminism." (p. 2) and refers only once to different groups of women. Working and middle class mother's preferences for child care arrangements are discussed by Patricia Morgan in 'Families in Dreamland' (p. 132).

Ungerson and Kember attempt to include readings that reflect the development of a European perspective within the social policy arena (p.3). The chapter by John Baker 'The Relative Prosperity of French One-Parent Families' compares the situation and status of lone mothers in France and in the UK, and as such, provides the reader with Ungerson and Kember's sought after, European angle. The two readings in the 'Social Security and Citizenship' section are also particularly illustrative of this. Ruth Lister's excerpt draws attention to the continuing assumption that all women are economically dependent on their men, which is evident in the British social security system. While Jane Lewis and Gertrude ?ström tell of a different story in Sweden, in which, the construction of social security policies and based on the idea that women are primarily workers. Ungerson and Kember make a good attempt at incorporating a European perspective, in the above sections, however, others are left lagging behind. In particular, the 'Housing and Planning Policy' chapters clearly focus on Britain only and neglect to mention other European countries. On balance, the text meets its aim to include a European perspective.

In the opening chapter, Ungerson and Kember explicitly state that "…the basic structure of the previous edition is maintained, in the sense that social policy is considered in relation to women (rather than gender)…" (p.1), and as such, they do not aim to examine social policy in relation to men. However, many of the subsequent extracts offer the reader a more comparative perspective, between women and men. 'Families in Dreamlands', 'Just Three Quite Girls', and 'Women and Private Medicine' are examples of this. Rose Wiles, 'Women and Private Medicine', is particularly, indicative. Wiles provides the reader with an insightful commentary on private health care and the reasons and rationale behind men and women opting to 'go private' (p. 291). In offering this gendered angle, the reader is provided with a more balanced perspective. The invisibility of men can lead to a, one-sided, somewhat bias account of the topics being discussed. Sylvia Trench, Taner Oc, and Steven Tiesdell's 'Safer Cities for Women' is a prime example. This excerpt specifically states that it will focus on women's safety only (p. 215), while suggesting that "…very few women are…available for attack." (p. 216). If it is not women who are being 'attacked' then it stands to reason that it must be men and, as such the reader is left to ponder as to why a reading on 'women' and 'safer cities' has been included. In summery, Ungerson and Kember's disclaimer that they will not attempt to include men clearly denotes that we can not 'attack' them on the grounds of the invisibility of men in this book.

On the whole, I am looking forward to the third edition of this text, and I suggest that Gender and Social Policy: A Reader will be a welcome addition to the existing literature.