Conclusions

Abstract

It is now time to return to the questions posed in the introduction; how have social policies and social structures affected women’s working lives in the two countries? We are particularly interested in how equal opportunities policies and legislation are affecting women’s experiences, whether child-care policies, tax and maternity benefit provisions play an important role and whether employment opportunities differ in Britain and the USA. These questions are considered in this chapter as part of our explanations for the major differences which we found between British and American women’s experiences.