This chapter turns to the evolution of family policy in an era marked by the contraction of the state, erratic economic growth and cuts in welfare services. Developments in family policy (and social policy in general) had formerly been shaped by seemingly endless economic growth, creating a manoeuvring space for ambitious reformers. Around 1980, however, the era of big reforms and the ever-expanding state seemed to be over. The corporatist decision-making model and the bureaucratic state came under increasing fire. One of the many facets of corporatism was the system of public commissions as a means of surveying areas of potential political intervention and preparing policy reforms. With the pressure on public finances building, the consensus-building public commissions were waning in impact, while the very idea of ever-increasing political intervention was increasingly questioned. These combined factors signalled a change in Swedish political culture, as consensus and long-term deliberations were discarded in favour of a much more conflictual political style, emphasising speed and efficiency rather than broad consultation.

The changing ideological tide impinged on family policy, although in a different direction and form from policy elsewhere in the political landscape. Feminist research challenged dominant beliefs about caring responsibilities and gender roles, as did the emerging field of men's studies. During the 1980s and 1990s, the government appointed a number of so-called men's groups that based their work on research into men and masculinity. Feminist research also changed; following the trend in international debates, women's studies reinvented itself as gender studies and encompassed an increasingly complex and advanced analysis of gender relations. This complexity also spilled over into political debates about the family.

During this period, gender equality policy more or less subsumed family policy. Family policy measures were just one of many parts in the presentation of gender equality goals. The family as an entity, and as a group, had waned in significance and the political discourse instead referred to the experience of individual women and men. This policy development resonated in the theoretical work of Anthony Giddens and Ulrich Beck, among others, on the individualisation process. Without necessarily referring to individualisation as a laudable goal, family policy came to address the conditions for the individual in post-industrial society.