Our future depends very much on how we respond to three greatchallenges of the new century, all of which threaten to increasesocial inequality: first, how we adapt institutions to the new roleof women - the 'incomplete revolution' of our time; second, how we prepare our children for the knowledge economy; and, third, how we respond to the new demography, in particular low fertilityand an ageing population. In this new book Gøsta Esping-Andersen - the leadinganalyst of the welfare state - examines how different societieshave responded to these challenges. It focuses especially on thequest for gender equality, on the role of families in thereproduction of social inequalities, and on major inequitiesassociated with an ageing population. Through comparative analysishe seeks to identify the kinds of welfare state reform that canoptimize not only individuals' life chances but also collectivewelfare. The intellectual ambition is, in other words, to identifythe mainsprings of a new and superior form of socialequilibrium.This book will be of great interest to anyone concerned withgender and the changing role of women, with social and publicpolicy, and with the future of the welfare state.