The good, the bad and the confusing: the political economy of social care expansion in South Korea.

Recent social policy reforms in South Korea indicate a progressive shift by a conservative government to modify the familialistic male breadwinner model that informs its welfare regime. The Korean government has demonstrated support for women through an increase in the provision, regulation and coordination of childcare and workplace support programmes for working parents. At the same time, labour market reforms have also created more pressures on women to seek and maintain paid work outside the home. Conflicting social and economic policy objectives have resulted in a confusing mix of policies, advancing and impeding gender equality at the same time. This contribution examines the recent family­work reconciliation policy reforms in Korea and discusses why these reforms may be good politics but a bad deal for women.

"Below their notice": exploring women's subjective experiences of cancer system exclusion.

BACKGROUND: The experiences that marginalized breast cancer populations have in common are rarely considered. METHODS: The authors look across 3 qualitative studies to explore the experiences of older, lower-income, and Aboriginal women diagnosed with cancer and treated by the cancer care system in Ontario, Canada. RESULTS: The research examines critical moments in participants' narratives that parallel one another and are categorized within 2 themes: Not Getting Cancer Care and Not Getting Supportive Care. CONCLUSIONS: Although exploratory, the findings merit attention both for what they tell us about women's experiences, and because they suggest disparities in access to treatment and psychosocial support.