1st Edition

Women's Work is Never Done Comparative Studies in Care-Giving, Employment, and Social Policy Reform

Edited By Sylvia Bashevkin Copyright 2002
    216 Pages
    by Routledge

    216 Pages
    by Routledge

    First published in 2002. Social critics, policy makers, and the public in general frequently overlook the crucial status of women as the main recipients of welfare and as providers of paid and unpaid care. The eight original essays in this collection remedy this situation. By comparing welfare policy in advanced industrial countries and the welfare experiences of different populations of women--black or white, young and old--with that of the male experience, Sylvia Bashevkin and her contributors challenge the Moynihan report; the conservative fatherhood movement; and neoliberal philosophy, politics and practice. Women's Work is Never Done adds a new dimension to the important public discussion of women's status as citizens, disparities in welfare reform, and poverty in a globalized world.

    Introduction, Sylvia Bashevkin; Part I Conceptual Issues; Chapter 1 Normative Concepts in Dutch Policies on Work and Care, Selma Sevenhuijsen; Part II Confronting Women’s Diversity; Chapter 2 It’s No Longer Just about Race, Dionne Bensonsmith; Chapter 3 Paying for Caring, Jane Jenson; Part III Anglo-American Welfare Reform; Chapter 4 Poverty, Social Assistance, and the Employability of Mothers in Four Commonwealth Countries, Maureen Baker; Chapter 5 Road-Testing the Third Way, Sylvia Bashevkin; Part IV Policy Alternatives; Chapter 6 Violating Women, Gwendolyn Mink; Chapter 7 Mandatory “Marriage” or Obligatory Waged Work, Leah F. Vosko;

    Biography

    Sylvia Bashevkin is Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto. A widely published author and frequent media commentator, she specializes in the area of Canadian, American and British politics. She is also the author of Women on the Defensive and is currently a fellow of University College and a senior fellow of Massey College at the University of Toronto.

    "An important and wide-ranging new collection assessing social policies related to care and welfare in comparative perspective." -- Joyce Gelb, City University of New York
    "An international group of scholars combine clear-eyed empiricism with a feminist vision...This volume is a well-integrated primer of best (and worst) practices for women in advanced industrial welfare states." -- Janet K. Boles, Marquette University
    "Women's Work Is Never Done is a valuable collection of essays on gender and the Anglo-American and West European welfare states. Leading scholars in the field address and take forward key current debates on gender and social policy. This is a major contribution to the comparative literature on gender and public policy." -- Joni Lovenduski, Birkbeck College
    "Women's Work Is Never Done is an engaging feminist collection that advances our understanding of how welfare discourses and policies affect women as welfare recipients, caregivers, workers, and citizens." -- Journal of Marriage and Family
    "Edited by Sylvia Bashevkin, the book reflects her comparative method and her immersion in political science. The contributors are meticulous in their research and, and like Bashevkin, political scientists." -- Atlantis
    "The book is well-written and accessible to a wide readership." -- Jeanne Batalova, University of California,