Women, Poverty and Social Citizenship in the United States
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Transcript of Women, Poverty and Social Citizenship in the United States
Women's Leadership Conference:Making Connections on Shared Priorities
October 2012
Celia Winkler, J.D., Ph.D.Associate Professor, Dept. of SociologyThe University of [email protected]
Social CitizenshipT.H. Marshall (1893-1981) British sociologist
Social Citizenship: “status bestowed on all those who are full members of a community.”
Marshall’s Typology of RightsCivil Rights: right to participate in civil society
(negative)Freedom from assaults on physical and mental integrityFreedom from discrimination
Political Rights: right to participate in polityVoteSpeech
Typology of Rights, cont.Social Rights: right to share in the “social
heritage” (positive)Generally speaking, the resources necessary for physical
and mental health“live the life of a civilized being according to the
standards prevailing in society”
Interdependency of RightsEach set of rights is dependent on the othersWithout political or civil rights, cannot gain social rightsWithout social rights, cannot exercise civil or political
rights
Social Citizenship: CareCivil Rights:
Right to own property; testify in courtRight to divorceRight to control reproduction/family planning
Political Rights:Women’s suffrageBringing issues of care into the public debate
Social Rights:Supporting care work and reproductive choice
Issues:Women as workers (civil rights)Women as political actors (political rights)Women as caregivers (social rights)
Time periods:Progressive Era (1900-1920s)Great Depression/New Deal (1930s)Post WWII (1940s-1960s)Civil Rights Era (1960s-1970s)Rise of Neoliberalism (1980s-1990s)Rise of Neoconservatism (1990s-present)
1900-1920s: First Wave of FeminismQuestion: Equality or Difference?
Protective LegislationMothers’ AidWomen’s Suffrage
ProblemsLegal to pay women and children less than
menNormal work day 12 hoursFamilies needed child wageUnsafe working conditionsFew childcare optionsBirth control information illegalWomen and most racial minorities barred
from vote
Lewis Hine, sociologist and photojournalist
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire 1911
Difference or Equality?Protective legislation
State limits on women’s work hours upheldState limits on child labor upheldFederal limits on child labor struck downMinimum wage laws struck down
Scattered attempts to provide childcareLabor unions not protected by lawMothers Aid: limited assistance to “worthy”
mothers, administered by charitable organizationsWomen’s Suffrage gained by constitutional
amendment 1920
1930s: The New Deal
Issues: High unemploymentGendered solutionsRacial/ethnic discrimination
Unemployment increases: at its height, about 25%Homelessness, poverty increaseUnrest increases--fear of Bolshevik type revolution
The Great Depression—Social Issues
Solutions for male unemploymentCivilian Conservation Corp
Solution primarily for male unemploymentWork Projects Administration
Wagner Act (National Labor Relations Act)
1935Established right of private sector workers to
organize, bargain collectively with employers, and strike
Established National Labor Relations BoardPromulgate rulesInvestigate and adjudicate charges of unfair
labor practicesConduct elections
Social Security Act, 1935Old Age Pensions and lump sum death
benefitsProvide securityRemove elderly from labor market
Unemployment compensationProvide securityRaise wages
Aid to Dependent ChildrenIntended as temporary programFor children supported by lone mothers
(preferably widows)
Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938Work week: pay overtime for work over 40
hoursMinimum wage: for everyoneChild LaborUpheld in U.S. v. Darby Lumber Co. (1941)
Two track welfare systemsRace discrimination
Excluded as the price of Southern support:predominantly Black, Asian and Latino farmworkers and domestic workers
Gender expectationsUnemployment compensation, Social Security intended
for male breadwinnersADC intended for women and children not supported by
male breadwinnerMale track: based on employmentFemale track: characterized by dependency, intrusive
GI BillHousewife Era
Post-WWII: GI BillProblem: returning unemployed GIsSolution: Educational Grants, Housing LoansKeynesian Economics:
Reduced interest ratesGovernment infrastructure investment
Creates demand Demand drives production Production provides jobs/income Jobs/income drives production
GI Bill FeaturesEducational grants
Removes pressure from labor marketIntellectual infrastructure development
Schools, academic staff, support for students Provides educated workforce
Housing LoansProvided much needed housingProvided infrastructure development; jobs
GI Bill ProblemsMale dominated
only about 18% of female GIs took advantage of their GI Bill education eligibilityDiscrimination and lack of childcare
White dominatedDiscrimination within armed forcesEducation: segregated schoolsThreats of violencePoverty of familiesHousing : legal discrimination by lenders and communities
Only for GIs—“selectivity”
1960s-1970sCivil Rights LegislationSupreme Court casesVietnam WarLiberation MovementsSecond Wave Feminism
True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.
-- The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Welfare Rights and the War on Poverty
The Era of Welfare RightsWelfare Rights Movement linked to Civil
Rights MovementDiscrimination in local offices and by private
agencies Racial discrimination Morality requirements (single mothers)
The Era of Welfare RightsLBJ and the War on Poverty (1964-1968)
Head Start (preschool for poor children)Legal ServicesCommunity Action advocacy offices
Civil Rights LegislationEqual Pay Act of 1963Civil Rights Act of 1964Voting Rights Act of 1965
Supreme Court CasesEstablishes notion of “entitlement”
Right to pretermination hearing : Goldberg v. Kelly
Question: must one give up one’s constitutionally guaranteed rights in order to receive assistance?Right to travel: Shapiro v. ThompsonRight to privacy:
Griswold v. Connecticut (1965); Eisenstadt v. Baird (1972) Roe v. Wade (1973) cf: Wyman v. James (1971)
1980s-1990s“Reagan Revolution”The Decline of the Welfare State and Social Citizenship
Neoliberalism under Reagan Administration
Free marketEnd of “nanny state”“Truly Needy”Welfare Queens
in Cadillacs
Welfare Reform in the 1980sReplaced work incentives (carrots) with sticks
in AFDCTerminated thousands of “heads, hearts,
backs” from Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security Income
Eliminated food stamp eligibility for students, immigrants, strikers
Neoliberal policiesDeregulation
Housing marketFinancial institutionsHealth and safety
Attacking labor unionsLegislation and board composition
Tighten eligibility for disability and parental benefits
“Tough on Crime”
1980s politicsBacklash against feminism
Second wave feminism loses its voiceBacklash against racial/ethnic liberation
movements“Moral panics”
Child abuseCrime
Impact of Neoliberal PoliciesIncreased poverty rateIncreased inequalityIncreased homelessness
“gentrification”—reduced housing stockDisabled individualsFamilies
Increased incarcerationIncreased dichotomization between legitimate
and illegitimate dependencyIncreased “personal responsibility” for care of
family members
1990s-2000s“Ending Welfare as We know It”“Personal Responsibility”Third Wave Feminism
Ending Welfare as We Know It
Contract With America 1994: Personal Responsibility Act Punish illegitimacy
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996Enforce work; encourage marriageEliminate notion of “entitlement”
Source: CBO http://www.cbo.gov/publications/collections/tax/2010/graphics.cfm
Cumulative Change in Real After-Tax Average Income
Politics in the 1990s/2000sThird Wave FeminismAntiwarWomen’s care work disappears as legitimate
issue of discussion
Blame the poor99%/Occupy MovementsConservative backlash
Economic Insecurity and theGreat Recessionfindings from the economic security indexNovember 2011
Women and Men Living on the Edge: Economic Insecurity After the Great Recessionby Jeff Hayes, Ph.D., Heidi Hartmann, Ph.D. (September 2011)