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The Economically Responsible Single Mum who Sees to her Future: Welfare-to-work programmes and pension savings

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 September 2018

ANAT HERBST-DEBBY
ANAT HERBST-DEBBY*
Affiliation:
Interdisciplinary Program for Gender Studies, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan. 5290002, Israel email: herbsta@biu.ac.il
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Abstract

In response to the economic vulnerability of single mothers and in keeping with a neoliberal ideology, many Western countries have encouraged increased labour-market participation, often through welfare-to-work (WTW) programmes. One practice adopted in these programmes is deepening knowledge of pension savings and increasing financial savviness. Feminist research points to women's lower economic status than men at retirement, especially divorcees and widows. Based on perceptions of single mothers participating in a WTW programme in Israel and their trainers, this study examines how such mothers, in a framework of vulnerability, experience policy imperatives regarding paid labour and examines their attitudes to pension savings. Findings reveal that, in reaction to the imperative of pension savings, some single mothers believed their present employment provided them with a more secure economic future, while others rejected this belief. The trainers also had divided opinions, despite their role in encouraging mothers to follow the imperative.

Type
Article
Information
Journal of Social Policy , Volume 48 , Issue 3 , July 2019 , pp. 489 - 510
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2018 

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