Suchergebnisse

1. Introduction : women and housing systems / Chan Kam Wah and Patricia Kennett -- 2. Women's housing rights : is anything wrong with the international norm? / Ingrid Westendorp -- 3. Women and housing : the Australian experience / Selina Tually -- 4. Women and housing affordability in the United States / Elizabeth A. Mulroy -- 5. Social change and housing systems : the case of women in Spain / Montserrat Pareja-Eastaway and Teresa Sanchez-Martinez -- 6. Women's housing in Sweden / Ingrid Sahlin -- 7. Women, housing and citizenship in Great Britain / Patricia Kennett -- 8. Moving beyond the standard family model : the emerging housing situations of women in Japan / Richard Ronald and Mieko Hinokidani -- 9. Neo-liberalization and the invisibility of women's housing problems in Taiwan / Herng-Dar Bih and Yi-Ling Chen -- 10. A gender study on housing rights of women in urban China : case study of a single-parent female domestic workers' group / Guo Hui-min -- 11. Women and housing inequalities in Hong Kong / Chan Kam Wah -- 12. Conclusion / Patricia Kennett.

Workfare has become a dominant social welfare approach in dealing with unemployment in various cities around the world. Recent social security reforms for lone mothers on benefits in Hong Kong are examples of the application of workfare in practice. This article argues that workfare strategy based on an outdated industrial-productivist conception of work contributes to the marginalization and undervaluation of work performed by disadvantaged groups. A reconceptualization of work will help to open up new alternatives in social work practice.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to compare the family‐friendly policies developed in Sweden, the UK and Singapore and discuss the implications on family‐friendly policies in Hong Kong.Design/methodology/approachThe study draws on policy documents of the three countries, to examine the welfare model, the service provisions and the outcomes of the family‐friendly policies.FindingsIn the study, the paper finds that considerable differences exist among the three countries in their conception of the role and responsibility of government in the reconciliation of family and work conflict. Strategies ranging from a high degree of intervention to minimal intervention are closely related to the social welfare regime of a country. Learning from the international experiences, it is important to link work and family policies in developing family‐friendly policy in Hong Kong because work and family are not two separate worlds.Originality/valueNumerous studies have documented the effectiveness and impact of family‐friendly policies in their own countries, but little has been done to compare the international experiences. The analysis contributes to offer a clear direction of developing family‐friendly policy in Hong Kong.

Since the mid-1990s, `social exclusion' has become a popular concept in social policy analysis. As a result, there are increasing concerns about developing a social inclusion policy. Using housing policies and services for battered women in Hong Kong as an example, this article demonstrates how policy and services claiming to help the disadvantaged actually contribute to reinforcing social exclusion. By focusing on a particular policy in a particular society and in a specific cultural context, this article and the authors' research on which it draws shed light on the complicated process of how social policy has contributed to the construction of social exclusion.

Purpose
Relatively few studies about retirement transition examine economies, where a public pension system is absent. This paper aims to fill this gap in the literature.


Design/methodology/approach
The present study draws on the stratification and risk society approach, as well as results from unstructured interviews with 12 Chinese in Hong Kong.


Findings
The analyses show that the retirement transition involves moving between different forms of wage work and non-work status. These moves were undertaken because of not only financial needs but also a strong desire to be a financially self-reliant and intrinsic commitment to employment. The authors argue that the desire and commitment to employment are shaped by the underdeveloped pension system, practical orientation towards traditional Chinese filial piety norms and personal work history.


Research limitations/implications
The current research covers only a very small sample and uses retrospective interviewing instead of a larger and/or representative sample using prospective panel interview. Nevertheless, the research carries theoretical and policy implications of the study on retirement transition and protection.


Originality/value
Few local studies track retirement transitions in the way similar to the current studies. Existing studies are mostly about advanced Anglo-Saxon economies with a long history of public pension, albeit reformed in recent year, in place. The current study adds to the general literature on retirement studies.