POLICY ALTERNATIVES AND POLITICAL-CHANGE - WORK, FAMILY, AND GENDER ON THE CONGRESSIONAL AGENDA, 1945-1990

Legislative change is constrained by the legislative ideas available t o lawmakers. Using content analysis, we analyze the ''packages'' of id eas contained in congressional bills proposing (since 1945) to regulat e how employers and unions deal with gender differences and employees 'family obligations. We focus on one step in the policymaking process- the formal introduction of the ideas to the legislature in the form of a bill-and document the range of such ideas and their patterns of sup port over time. We find a narrow range, consisting of three packages o f ideas concerning work, family, and gender: a ''separate spheres'' pa ckage, an ''equal opportunity'' package, and a package that stresses ' 'work-family accommodation.'' The equal opportunity package has receiv ed by far the most support and separate spheres the least; support for work-family accommodation has increased rapidly in the last decade.