Decisions about who should and should not be expected to support themselves through paid employment are central to all systems of social protection. This is an issue in which there has been a significant gender divide in most countries. For men, paid work is generally expected, unless for reasons of sickness, unemployment, or retirement. Of course, these are themselves all conditional and subject to change – retirement ages can be moved, unemployment and sickness can be defined more or less stringently – and there are examples of this sort of change in recent policy in many countries. But the changes affecting men tend to be at the margins, a shifting of boundaries between the economically active and inactive, rather than a fundamental change in the expectations driving policy. For women, in contrast, there seems to be a much more radical transformation taking place in a number of countries. Women with children are increasingly being defined as part of the labour force, as among those who are expected to support themselves through employment, rather than as primarily at-home caregivers.

This policy shift has particularly affected lone mothers and is reflected in two main sorts of changes: changes in the conditions under which lone parents can claim benefits without some form of work-related activity test; and the inclusion of lone parents in labour market programmes. This chapter examines both of these, drawing first on the material from the six national chapters to highlight key points for each country and then to make comparisons across the countries.

Activity requirements for lone parents

The division of lone parents into either ‘mothers’ (supported by benefits to stay at home and care for children) or ‘workers’ (required to be eligible for work in the same way as other benefit claimants) has often been used as an analytical frame for comparing different national systems of support (Millar, 1996; Lewis, 1997; Duncan and Edwards, 1997b). The six countries included here present a range of different approaches and in all, except France, the rules have either changed recently and/or are in the process of change.

Australia: Lone and married parents in Australia may be eligible for support under the same system (Parenting Payment), which is available to anyone caring for dependent children aged under 16. The benefit is partially means-tested on a partner's income, where applicable. There is no requirement for recipients to work or to seek work.