Social changes including an increase in dual-earner families, declining fertility, and growing problems of work-life 'balance' are underway as more women, particularly mothers, enter and remain in paid employment. The authors explore this in a number of European countries (Britain, France, The Netherlands, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Portugal).

ANNELI ANTTONEN is in the Department of Social Policy and Social Work, University of Tampere, Finland MARGARET BÄCK-WIKLUND is at Göteborg University, Department of Social Work, Göteborg, Sweden MARIE CERMAKOVA is at the Institute of Sociology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic MARIA DAS DORES GUERREIRO is at ISCTE, Lisbon, Portugal LAURA DEN DULK is at University of Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands COLETTE FAGAN is Senior lecturer, Department of Sociology, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK. JEANNE FAGNANI is Director of Research, CNRS, University of Paris, France RICHENDA GAMBLES is in the Department of Social Policy and Social Work, University of Oxford, UK HANA HASKOVA is at the Institute of Sociology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic NICKY LE FEUVRE is at Maison de la Recherche, University of Toulouse - Le Mirail, France CLOTILDE LEMARCHANT is in the Department of Sociology, University of Caen, France LINDA MCDOWELL is Professor of Human Geography Professorial Fellow, St John's College, Oxford, UK INÊS PEREIRA is at ISCTE, Lisbon, Portugal DIANE PERRONS is Director of LSE Gender Group, London School of Economics, London, UK LARS PLANTIN is Researcher, Department of Social Work, University of Gotenborg, Sweden RHONA RAPOPORT is Director, Institute of Family and Environmental Research, London, UK KATH RAY is Research Fellow, Policy Studies Institute, London, UK JORMA SIPILÄ is in the Department of Social Policy and Social Work, University of Tampere, Finland ANNEKE VAN DOORNE-HUISKES is at University of Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands KEVIN WARD is Senior lecturer, Department of Geography, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK. KARIN WALL is at the Institute of Social Sciences (ICS), University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal