Driven Apart

Annis May Timpson demonstrates how Canadian women’s calls for family-friendly employment policies have translated into inaction or inappropriate action on the part of successive federal governments. She focuses on debates, public inquiries, and policy evolution during the Trudeau, Mulroney, and Chrétien eras, contextualizing these developments with a discussion of the changing patterns of women’s employment since the Second World War. Drawing on a wealth of interviews and close analysis of primary documents, Driven Apart explains why federal governments have been able to implement employment equity policies but have failed to develop a national system of child care.

Driven Apart was selected as an Outstanding Academic Title by CHOICE and was awarded The Pierre Savard Prize by the International Council for Canadian Studies.

Sandra Burt, Department of Political Science, University of Waterloo:
Well researched and fascinating ... While feminist activists have always been aware of the connection between issues of production and reproduction, bureaucrats and politicians have created separate policies for the two arenas. Annis May Timpson explains why the separation developed and links her findings to central questions of the public/private divide. This book is essential reading for policy analysts, government officials, and students of Canadian politics, and offers new insight into relationships between citizens and their state.

Sylvia Bashevkin, Department of Political Science, University of Toronto, and author of Women on the Defensive: Living through Conservative Times:
A fascinating look at issues of women and work in Canada. Essential reading for anyone who wonders how a massive influx of women into paid work failed to produce a national child care program. Annis May Timpson’s careful analysis of developments to date sets the benchmark for measuring public policy – or its absence – in this crucial area.

Kathy Teghtsoonian, University of Victoria:
An insightful account of an intriguing public policy puzzle ... Timpson has made a significant contribution to our understanding of the particular histories of federal employment equity and child care policies and of the potentials and limitations of royal commissions. Her analysis will be of keen interest to those seeking to understand the dynamic interaction between social movements and the state, as well as the public policy process more generally.