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This book examines the collision between work and care and how it affects life in Australia. It explains how the changes in lifestyle and behaviour in recent decades have not been mirrored by changes in cultural values, workplaces and other institutions such as the law, labour market and schools, and that this situation has had high social and personal costs. The book discusses issues such as cultural constructions of 'mother' and 'carer', the effects on personal lives of working long hours, the 'mummy track' of part time work and the peripheral status of carers. It also shows the wider impact on society, for example in terms of diminishing birthrates. The conclusion is that we need to formulate new guiding principles for a new joint venture of women, men, households, the state and workplaces, incorporating elements such as secure part-time jobs, leave and workplace arrangements into a new work/care regime.