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Working their way out of poverty? Sole motherhood, work, welfare and material well-being

journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-16, 13:57 authored by Margaret WalterMargaret Walter
Over the last 20 years, Australian social policy has increasingly focused on raising the labour market participation level of sole parents. The extension of mutual obligation to sole parents under welfare reform further concentrates this policy direction. Yet while increased workforce activity may reduce 'welfare dependency', the efficacy of employment to raise the level of material well-being in sole parent families is less clear. Recent research casts doubt on the assumed link between material well-being and paid work for sole mother households. This article uses data from the 1996/97 Negotiating the Lifecourse Project and three measures of material well-being to examine the relative importance of employment and partnered status to material well-being among sole and married mother households. The results indicate that increased market work may not lead to significantly higher rates of material well-being for sole mother families.

History

Publication title

Journal of Sociology

Volume

38

Issue

4

Pagination

361-380

ISSN

0004-8690

Department/School

Aboriginal Leadership

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Place of publication

London, Thousand Oaks and New Delhi

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Families and family services

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