The right to divorce is a symbol of individual liberty and gender equality under the law, but in practice it is anything but equitable. Family Law in Action reveals the class and gender inequalities embedded in the process of separation and its aftermath in Quebec and France. Drawing on empirical research conducted on their respective court and welfare systems, Emilie Biland analyzes how men and women in both places encounter the law and its representatives in ways that affect their personal and professional lives. While gender inequality is less pronounced in Quebec than in France, and class inequality is starker, in both national contexts inequalities after breakups are driven by the same three mechanisms: access to the law and justice, interactions with legal professionals, and the ways these two factors shape lifestyle and standard of living. Family Law in Action is a rigorous but compassionate study that encourages governments to make good on the emancipatory promise enshrined in divorce law.

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• Winner, W. Wesley Pue Book Prize, Canadian Law and Society Association/Association canadienne droit et société

Emilie Biland is a professor of sociology at Sciences Po, Centre for the Sociology of Organisations, Institut Universitaire de France, in Paris, and an adjunct professor of political science at Université Laval. Since 2021, she has been the co-leader of the “Pandemic Experiences of Law and Justice: Family, Work and Public Space during the COVID-19 Crisis” project. Annelies Fryberger is a sociologist and translator, working mainly on evaluation processes, often in the field of music. Miranda Richmond Mouillot is an author, translator, and editor. Her translation of The Kites won a PEN/Heim Award.