Abstract

This essay deals with two fundamental issues in the analysis of social change and the distribution of new social risks: a) the necessity to conceptualise and therefore to measure social welfare in a way that is appropriate to the constellation of social risks and inequalities typical of post-industrial societies, and b) the influence of the gender dimension on these processes of social change (as well as on the possibilities that they convey). The essay will show how the new constellation of social risks and the possible ways to cope with them are strongly interconnected and will present some preliminary indications on the policies which may help to reduce the amount of social inequality linked to post-industrial social risks.