The ideology that women belong in families to nurture children and look after the home has been traditionally perpetuated in Australian society (Hughes 1994, p. 162). Previously, marriage was the only acceptable role for women and the alternative; spinsterhood, prostitution or work for low wages was viewed as socially unacceptable (Aspin 1994, p. 42). The dramatic increase in paid workforce participation of women has seen a major shift in the role that women play within society. Consequently, females entering the paid workforce can be seen to be the biggest factor that can be attributed to the change in family structure, size, member’s roles and functions performed within the present day family unit. (Edgar, Earle & Fopp 1993, p. 303)

Feminism, a political and social movement to empower women to

Changing technology, economics and values have all impacted on the change of the family unit. Modern technology has enabled Australian women to achieve a balance between domestic duties and paid work (Sarantakos 1996, p. 141). An increase in the type of labour saving devices and an adjustment in the role of male partners to become more egalitarian has provided women with more freedom from the patriarchal subordination of household duties. Sarantakos (1998, p. 4) suggests that the contraceptive revolution of the 1970’s enabled women the control over how many children they have and when they have them. Consequently, there has been a significant increase in the age in which women marry and have children and if they marry at all, giving women more time outside the home and the opportunity to pursue higher education and qualifications (Sargent, Nilan & Winter 1997, p. 108).

In conclusion, it can be noted that the trends evident in the Australian family structure, their forms and social values are fragmenting and reforming. Dramatic changes have occurred in the course of half a century. These include a decline in fertility, changed patterns of cohabitation, an increase in single and one parent families, and changes in the patterns of marriage and divorce. Consequently, this has challenged the technological, economic and social changes believed necessary for the family as a social institution. Family transformation, and the acceptance of new types of relationships, has seen the belief that the nuclear family is more a

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