ERIC Number: EJ699088
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2005-Jun
Pages: 29
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0037-7732
EISSN: N/A
Reforming a Breadwinner Welfare State: Gender, Race, Class, and Social Security Reform
Herd, Pamela
Social Forces, v83 n4 p1365-1393 Jun 2005
A key challenge facing western welfare states is that they offset income risks faced by those in breadwinner families. Social Security is an excellent example. It best protects individuals with lengthy work histories or individuals who get married, stay married, and are never employed. Most women fit neither model. Thus, I analyze "women-friendly" approaches (benefit improvements for parents or those divorced) and a social democratic approach (minimum benefit) to reform. Benefits disconnected from marital status (parent and minimum benefits) are most effective at insuring against the new risks women face. Women-friendly approaches, however, do tend to reinforce inequality among women. Ultimately, my results emphasize that analyses must account for the intersection of gender, race, and class to understand how the state shapes stratification.
Descriptors: Heads of Households, Risk, Marital Status, Females, Income, Social Class, Sex Fairness, Race, Political Attitudes
University of North Carolina Press, 116 South Boundary Street, P.O. Box 2288, Chapel Hill, NC 27515-2288. Tel: 919-966-3561; Fax: 919-966-3829.
Publication Type: Information Analyses; Journal Articles
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Laws, Policies, & Programs: Social Security
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A