Single Mothers, Work(fare), and Managed Precariousness

Abstract

Welfare-to-work initiatives represent a trenchant example of the expansion of the rules and norms of global capitalism and welfare residualism. A study of the everyday experiences of women who parent alone, this article is a case analysis of the residual welfare state as it functions according to the gendered and racialized logic of the market. I examine lone mothers' experiences of the design, delivery, and enforcement of workfare in Ontario, Canada. Specific attention is given to the operation of random and limiting employment-preparation programs; ambiguous and complex regulations; capricious and punitive service delivery; and managed precariousness. I conclude with a discussion of the ways in which women cope and resist, and a challenge to social service providers and policy makers.

Keywords:

• lone mothers
• workfare
• globalization
• welfare residualism

The author thanks the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) for providing funding for the Lone Mothers: Building Social Inclusion project through a Community-University Research Alliance (CURA) grant. The principal investigator of the project, Dr. Lea Caragata, is gratefully acknowledged for conceiving of and managing this important research endeavor. The author also acknowledges the valuable and generous assistance of Dr. Leah Vosko, who thoroughly reviewed and commented on a previous draft of this article, and the expert comment from Sarah Pennisi (PhD candidate) regarding the technical details of social assistance in Ontario.

Notes

¹While most provinces were cutting back on public support for child-care services in the 1990s, Quebec made child care universally available at low cost and at no cost for low-income families (Cleveland & Hyatt, 2003).

²In this first round of interviews, respondents were not asked to divulge details about the amounts and sources of their income. Therefore, an accurate and in-depth comparison of cash and in-kind benefits made available to lone-mother participants is not possible in this analysis.