Cross-national perspectives on firm-level family policies: Britain, Germany, and the US compared

Abstract

Abstract With a shift in the political debate to more market-driven social policy approaches during the past decade, politicians in a number of European countries have argued that employers should take on greater responsibilities in the provision of social policy. Corporations have indeed expanded their provision of family policies over the past decade. The puzzle to be addressed in this chapter is: why do employers get involved? Looking at Britain, Germany, and the US, our findings show that for the overwhelming majority of employers engaged in firm-level family policies their main aim is to recruit and retain (highly) skilled employees. However, the industrial sector and the national political economy are key context conditions, influencing employers’ agency in the domain of family policies.