How the State shapes gender relations
by enabling and constraining people's actions . Can structure gender relations through regulation, law enforcement, and carceral policies, and through state provisions
Gendered State
The mainstream definitions of state ignores gender, the state stands at the core of the structure of gender relations in gender analysis. State politics concern gender and state creates gender categories.
Gender division of labor and hierarchal labor segregation among sate employees
Men in the military, police and women social welfare, health and education
The state
An organization which has sovereignty over a population.
Citizenship
The state-peoples relationship. Revolves around the granting oaf and claiming of rights
1. political rights
2. civic rights
3. social/economic rights
Political Rights
To vote and stand in an election
Civic Rights
To be treated equally under the law
Social/Economic rights
To educate, jobs, social security, labor rights and so on.
Welfare State
form of state relations (b/w states and citizens) in capitalism, which is designed to provide a living safety net to protect and promote citizens' economic and social wellbeing, compensating for market inefficiencies.
Welfare State can occur through
1. Regulation of labor relations (wage, max hours, child work, etc)
2. Redistribution of resources (through taxation and payment transfers)
3. Interventions (programs that are often part-and parcel of social security benefits)
Example of how state creates categories
Husband" and "wife" are shaped by marital law and tax policies.
Welfare state is gendered
Welfare policies are based on normative ideas about femininity and masculinity. They stop poor single mothers from staying home, require them to work to get benefits. Women without children make more money than women who are mothers
Femocrats
Feminists working in the state with an agenda of making policies more gender-just
Gender Mainstreaming
Strategy for "mainstream" gender perspective in the processes of policy making, legislation, and political programs, with the goal of increasing equality
Contentious politics
Feminist protests vis-av-vis the state. Usually in democratic regimes they push for reform.
Reproduction
All work that is invested in the process of sustaining (new) people's existence and development, the provision of their physical, cognitive and emotional needs: feeding, teaching, playing. Isn't a natural process, requires specific sites and investments,
Care Work
All the work that goes into caring for other people's needs. It can apply also for elder-care, or care for adults with disabilities, which aren't considered "reproduction
Biological determinism
Says women are in charge of reproductive work because maternity provides women with greater investment, emotional and personal skills for care.
Cultural Essentialism
Says women are in charge of reproductive work because socialization theory would argue that women's specialization on this set of activities is functional for society.
Constructionist approach
women's responsibility for reproduction is a result of a historical social and political system (patriarchy�both traditional and/ modified)
that defined femininity and women's roles in relation to the private sphere (the 'separate spheres' ideology)
Feminist Economics
within their discipline to change its 'manstream' bias and make it more gender-aware (hence more scientifically accurate). Sociology and economics are 2 social sciences interested in explaining social inequalities
Reproductive work as a problem of the commons
A way for the market to 'offload' costs (in order
to be competitive) is to externalize them�to
make someone else do the labor without paying
the cost.
How is reproduction work externalized
1. Other countries import educated, trained healthy workers.
2. Women keep their work at home informal and unaccounted for.
Formal Labor
a legal contract, an hourly wage, a salary or some kind of paycheck taxes are taken from (income reported to the govt).
Informal Labor
not subject to labour legislation
(e.g. hours/wage regulation), social protection,
taxes or employment benefits. If paid for, income is reported to the government. Often unpaid�for example home-making.
Problem with capitalism
Needs reproducers but won't pay for them.
Advantages of commodifying care work
(i) freedom for women, (iii) more
specialized care provision, (iii) greater appreciation for the skills required for care work.
Disadvantages of commodifying care work
(i) ensuring quality of care (ii) a 'free
rider' problem: the benefits of care are
'externalized'�they are shared by many in society, but only one family is required to pay for them. (iii) care work, even when commodified, is undervalued and this is becau
Why is it that the more emotionally invested the activity, the lower it's market estimated value is
Because people don't want people to be doing the emotionally invested work for the wrong reasons
Contemporary Care Costs
The cost of caring for dependents has increased
over time -- > Cost of sending kids to college - and importance of doing so --> Increased longevity (who will care for elders?) -->
Decreased fertility rates�less siblings to share
the cost of elder-care wit
Working Class Women are...
are losing jobs that are cut in the public sector (e.g., education, health, social work, ser vices) and the pri vatization of reproduction and caring labor (less public funding for childcare, eldercare, special needs care, etc.)
Workers of Color are
the last to be hired (sometimes only with the intervention of equity programs) and first to be fired. First affected by job loss, lease affected by recovery.
Younger Generation are
plunged into precocity on a massive scale in the labor market. Student protesters in Chile, Canada, Haiti are fighting over education (a means of social reproduction).
Migrant workers and racialize minorities
because migrant workers have become the ideal
flexible workers in the age of precariousness:
brought in on contracts, denied full rights,
exportable and deportable at whim".
Liberal Welfare Regimes
Prefer to address issues through the market with little state intervention. Government intervenes when one can't support themselves, family and caregiving is the responsibility of an individual, women are treated as earners not caregivers. Wage gap is lar
Cooperative-Conservative Approach
Reinforces male breadwinner/female caregiver model, do offer support for caregiving but is designed to encourage women to care for the family.
Social-demographic regime
rely on high taxes and full employment to provide generous social welfare benefits, offer support for caregiving but is designed to encourage women to care for the family
There are 5 parental leave practices that help gender equality
1. Generous, paid leave
2. Non-transferable quotas of leave for each parent.
3. Universal coverage coupled with modest eligibility restrictions.
4. Financing structures that pool risks among many employers.
5. Scheduling flexibility.
Pregnancy Discrimination Act and Title VII
Provides that discrimination in hiring, firing, and providing fringe benefits on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions is against the law.
History of Pregnancy Discrimination Act
Said pregnancy was different from other sickness, so it could be excluded from the act.
Congress was discontent so they passed the PDA two years later.
Limitation of Pregnancy Discrimination Act
Doesn't support caregivers in their family life. Employers do still discriminate against pregnant women. Claims women are passed over promotions by less qualified men.
Family Medical Leave Act
First federal family-leave policy that encompasses most of the United States. Eligible employee can take up to 12 weeks unpaid leave due to a new child or serious illness.
Purposes:
1. Helping individuals balance their home and workplace demands in order
Limitations of Family Medical Leave Act
Covers very few workers. There are a lot of coverage limitations. Only provides 3 months of leave. Doesn't provide protection for parental obligations (i.e. parent-teacher conferences) Doesn't provide for any paid leave time. Men and women are equally lik
What we need to address in reforms
Paid leave, broad coverage, scheduling flexibility, Reduced work time.
Procreation and reorganizing social reproduction
Women feared the pain and possibility of death associated with pregnancy.
Desire for limiting was voiced first by women, then by men and then a decline was observed.
Economic concerns also caused limitations.
Sexuality and reorganizing social reproduction
Feminists found women that provided friendship and sometimes erotic intimacy. More lenient view on women sexuality.
Consumerism and reorganizing social reproduction
Motherhood was defined as a career women were naturally suited for. Seen as a discourse in psychology and mental health. Women buy new homes. Also seen as consumers and creatures of advertising. Also became saleswomen. Ideal women became unattainable for
Professionalization and reorganizing social reproduction
Some aspects of certain jobs are male work and others are women's work. Like medicine
Women's exclusion from male fields limited their work.
Role of state and reorganizing social reproduction
State expansion is an inevitable product of industrialization and the shifting type of family�can't perform usual functions. Some laws not gender neutral.