Women's Political Agency and Welfare Reform: Engendering the Adult Worker Model

Annesley, Claire

doi:10.1093/pa/gsm018

Cited by 25 publications

(37 citation statements)

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“…This is particularly the case in the Westminster model where policy making is dominated by the executive and policy networks (Durose and Gains, 2007). But it also applies to corporate decision‐making systems such as Sweden or Germany, where decisions are traditionally agreed by social partners before they reach parliament (Annesley, 2007; Hernes, 1987). The limitations of SRW through women's policy agencies are also evident.…”

Section: Gender Power and Change: Existing Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Core Executive: Gender, Power and Change

Annesley

Gains

2010

Political Studies

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The core executive is a central focus for the study of policy change especially in Westminster‐style parliamentary democracies such as the UK. This venue is recognised as the locus of power and where attention should be given for identifying and assessing the process of policy change. It is surprising, then, that studies on women's substantive representation – showing whether and how women can make a difference to politics and policy – have not examined this institution, focusing instead on parliament or women's policy agencies. We plug this gap in scholarship in suggesting that the core executive should be the key venue for examining substantive representation of women. At the same time we present the case that the core executive is a gendered institution in terms of recruitment, resource allocation, relationships and rules. We argue that this gendered disposition shapes the opportunities and constraints available to feminist actors intent on altering the gender emphasis of public policy and illustrate this empirically through a case study of the actions and successes of two feminist ministers – Harriet Harman and Patricia Hewitt. As such this article makes a contribution to mainstream core executive research, gender and politics scholarship as well as the new and feminist institutionalist literatures.

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Section: Gender Power and Change: Existing Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Core Executive: Gender, Power and Change

Annesley

Gains

2010

Political Studies

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“…Employment by Skills, 1992-2007 Source: Eurostat, authors' calculations.Journal of European SocialPolicy 2011 21(2)…”

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confidence: 99%

Business, skills and the welfare state: the political economy of employment-oriented family policy in Britain and Germany

Fleckenstein

Seeleib-Kaiser

2011

Journal of European Social Policy

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Family policies have been expanded in many OECD countries, whilst developments along other welfare state dimensions have been characterized by retrenchment. Although the contribution of gender analyses of the welfare state to a better understanding of family policies is widely acknowledged, the literature so far has largely failed to provide a comparative account explaining the recent expansions of employment-oriented family policies in countries that were previously categorized as pursuing policies in accordance with the strong male breadwinner model. This article aims to make a contribution to the comparative literature by investigating the socioeconomic conditions and politics of employment-oriented family policy expansions in Britain and Germany since the 1990s. We pay special attention to processes of post-industrialisation and especially changed skill compositions as well as the role of key policy actors, with a special focus on organized business.

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“…Regardless of this qualification, New Labour introduced policies with the explicit intention of increasing female workforce participation (in particular, the employment of low-income parents), which indicates a departure from the male breadwinner trajectory (Lewis, 2009). In light of the Swedish experience, it is not surprising that Labour women were associated with the rise of adult worker policies in Britain (Annesley, 2007). In light of the Swedish experience, it is not surprising that Labour women were associated with the rise of adult worker policies in Britain (Annesley, 2007).…”

Section: Family Policy Expansion In a Welfare State: Britainmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Politics of Postindustrial Social Policy

Fleckenstein

Lee

2012

Comparative Political Studies

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Recent welfare reforms across the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have sought to make social policies more “employment friendly.” Although “old” social policies of the Golden Age (namely, unemployment protection and old-age security, which were typically geared toward the male breadwinner model) were subject to comprehensive retrenchment, “new” social policies, especially family policies facilitating work–family reconciliation and female employment participation, experienced substantial expansion. Following the Swedish “pioneer,” strong male breadwinner countries have expanded employment-oriented family policies since the late 1990s. Against the case of early family policy expansion in Sweden (typically associated with social democracy and an organized women’s movement), they examine whether the drivers of employment-oriented family policy have changed since the end of the Golden Age. The authors highlight party competition as key political driver in policy expansion in “latecomer” countries, whereas postindustrialization (in particular the rise of the new social risk of work–family conflicts, as well as wider changes in the skills profile and needs of postindustrial economies) provides the functional underpinnings for these policies.

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Women's Political Agency and Welfare Reform: Engendering the Adult Worker Model

Cited by 25 publications

References 0 publications

The Core Executive: Gender, Power and Change

The Core Executive: Gender, Power and Change

Business, skills and the welfare state: the political economy of employment-oriented family policy in Britain and Germany

The Politics of Postindustrial Social Policy

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