"This book looks at the engagement of feminist social movements with different states in different societies, the way states influence the emergence of feminist social movements and the form they take. In some areas of policy, there have been huge changes and in others, change has been almost imperceptible. This book explores why it is easier to bring about change in some areas than others. It also asks whether these changes would have happened anyway.

Are they a result of feminist social movements or of changes in economy and society? Or does the answer to this question depend on the society being studied? These issues are explored by comparing feminist social movements, states, and social policy change in Britain, Europe and North America in the last three decades of the 20th century."--BOOK JACKET.