Feminism - perspectives on families and social policy

p238-40

Summary

• Conflict view

• Society patriarchal, benefiting men at the expense of women

• All social institutions, incl. state and policies, help maintain women’s subordinate position and unequal division of labour

Leonard (1978) - role of social policies

• Policies appear to benefit women but still reinforce patriarchal family

Land (1978) - policies as a self-fulfilling prophecy

• Policies based on assumptions about ‘normal’ family

  • Ideal family: patriarchal N.F.: male provider, female homemaker, dependent children

• Norm affects kind of policies

• Effect of policies then reinforces this type of family at the expense of other types- S-F P

• E.g.: state assumes nromal families based on marriage

  • Offers tax incentives to married couples that are not available to those cohabiting

    • Encourages marriage, discourages cohabitation

• Polcy makes more difficult for people to live in family types other than what policy makers assume they live in

Policies that support the patriarchal family - tax and benefits

• Assume husband breadwinner and wife financially dependent

• Difficult for wives to claim social security benefits since expected that husbands will provide

  • Reinforces women’s dependence on husbands

Policies that support the patriarchal family - childcare

• Govt pays for some childcare for pre-school children but not enough to allow parents to work full-time without paying additional costs themselves

• Policies regarding school timetables and holidays make it hard for parents (usually mothers) to work full time without extra childcare

  • Women restricted from working, placed in position of economic dependence on partners, reinforcing traditional gender roles

Policies that support the patriarchal family - care for sick and elderly

• Govt policies assume care for sick and elderly provided by family

• Middle-aged women expected to provide this care, preventing them from working full time and increasing their economic dependence on their partners

Policies that support the patriarchal family - maternity leave

• Mat leave appears to benefit women but reinforces patriarchy

  • Mat leave more generous than pat leave which encourages assumption that care of infants is responsibility of mothers, not fathers

  • Mat benefits low, increasing mother’s economic dependence on partners

Policies that support the patriarchal family - child benefit

• Normally paid to mother

• Gives source of income that isn’t dependent on partner :)

• Assumes child’s welfare primarily her responsibility :(

Importance of social policies in social construction of family roles and relationships

• Creates and maintains patriarchal roles and relationships assumed to be the norm

• Makes it easier for women to take responsibility for care of infants and assumes men main economic provider

Evaluation of feminist view - policies that challenge the patriarchal family

• Equal pay and sex discrimination laws

• Lesbian marriage rights

• Lone parent benefits

• DV refuges

• Equal rights to divorce

• Rape within marriage criminal offence (1991)

Drew (1995) - gender regimes

• ‘Gender regimes’ used to describe how social policies in different countries en/discourage gender equality (familial and lavorativo)

Types of gender regimes

• Familistic

  • Policies based on trad division of labour

  • Greece: little-no state welfare or publicly funded childcare

    • Women have to rely on extended kin, trad. division of labour

• Individualistic - EU countries tending towards

  • Policies based on belief that husbands and wives should be treated the same

    • Wives not assumed to be financially dependent on husbands, each partner separate entitlement to state benefits

  • Sweden: husbands and wives treated as equally responsible for breadwinning/domestic tasks, policies mean women less dependent on husbands and have more opportunities to work

    • Equal opportunities policies, state provision of childcare, parental leave, good quality welfare services

Cost of social policies

• Publicly funded childcare v. expensive

• Major conflicts ensue as to who should benefit and who should pay

  • Not necessarily a march of progress

• Post-2008 recession

  • Cuts in welfare spending forced women to take more responsibility where welfare took the brunt before

• Trend towards neo-liberal welfare policies post-2008 recession

  • Individuals and families encouraged to use market, not state, to meet needs

    • Private pension provision and elderly care