Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T07:05:09.746Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

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*
Affiliation:
Interdisciplinary Program for Gender Studies, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan. 5290002, Israel email: [email protected]

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
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Achdut, L. and Spivak, A. (2010), The Pension System in Israel after 15 Years of Reform: Policy Research 8, Jerusalem: Van Leer Institute (Hebrew).Google Scholar
Ajzenstadt, M. and Gal, J. (2001), ‘Appearances can be deceptive: Gender in the Israeli welfare state’, Social Politics, 8, 3, 293324.Google Scholar
Albelda, R. (2011), ‘Time binds: U.S. antipoverty policies, poverty and single mother's well-being’, Feminist Economics, 17, 4, 189214.Google Scholar
Bank of Israel (2015), ‘From the review of economic developments in recent months (139), to be published shortly: Enforcing the setting aside of funds for pensions and its implications for wages’, Bank of Israel website (Hebrew), http://www.boi.org.il/he/NewsAndPublications/PressReleases/Pages/09-06-2015-PensionSaving.aspx.Google Scholar
Bannier, C. E. and Schwarz, M. (2017), ‘Skilled but unaware of it: Occurrence and potential long-term effects of females’ financial underconfidence, https://papers.ssrn.com/soL3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2925196.Google Scholar
Belloni, M. and Fornero, E. (2008), Gender Differences in Retirement Income and Pension Policy: Simulating the Effects of Various DB and DC Schemes (Report No. 59), ENEPRI.Google Scholar
Benish, A., Haber, H. and Eliahou, R. (2017), ‘The regulatory welfare state in pension markets: Mitigating high charges for low-income savers in the United Kingdom and Israel, Journal of Social Policy, 46, 2, 313–30.Google Scholar
Benjamin, O. (2016), Gendering Outsourcing in Israel: The Erasure of Employees’ Caring Skills, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Bennet, H. (2017), ‘Re-examining British welfare-to-work contracting using a transaction cost perspective,’ Journal of Social Policy, 46, 1, 129–48.Google Scholar
Bettio, F., Tinios, P. and Betti, G. (2013), The Gender Gap in Pensions in the EU, Luxembourg: European Commission.Google Scholar
Bíró, A. (2013), ‘Adverse effects of widowhood in Europe’, Advances in Life Course Research, 18, 1, 6882.Google Scholar
Bonnet, C. and Hourriez, J. (2012), ‘Gender equality in pensions: What role for rights accrued as a spouse or a parent?’, Population, 67, 1, 123–46.Google Scholar
Brander, A. (2011), First Year of the Compulsory Pension Arrangement: The Compliance Agreement and Potential Consequences for the Labor Supply, Jerusalem: Bank of Israel (Hebrew).Google Scholar
Breitkreuz, R. S. and Williamson, D. L. (2012), ‘The self-sufficiency trap: A critical examination of welfare-to-work’, Social Service Review, 86, 4, 660–89.Google Scholar
Bridgen, P. and Meyer, T. (2014), ‘The liberalisation of the German social model: Public–private pension reform in Germany since 2001’, Journal of Social Policy, 43, 1, 3768.Google Scholar
CBS – Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (2009, 2016), Statistical Abstract of Israel, Jerusalem: Author (Hebrew).Google Scholar
Charmaz, K. (2014), Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide Through Qualitative Analysis, London: Sage.Google Scholar
Daly, M. (2011), ‘What Adult Worker Model? A critical look at recent social policy reform in Europe from a gender and family perspective’, Social Politics, 18, 1, 123.Google Scholar
DeVaney, S. A. and Kim, H. (2003), ‘Women's knowledge about their pension plans’, Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences, 95, 2, 1925.Google Scholar
Duvvury, N., Léime, Á. N., Callan, A., Price, L. and Simpson, M. (2012), Older Women Workers’ Access to Pensions: Vulnerabilities, Perspectives and Strategies, Belfast: Queen's University.Google Scholar
Endeweld, M., Gottlieb, D., Heller, O. and Karady, L. (2017), Poverty Rates and Social Gaps: Annual Report 2016, Jerusalem: National Insurance Institute, Research and Planning Administration (Hebrew).Google Scholar
Ferrant, G., Pesando, L. M. and Nowacka, K. (2014), Unpaid Care Work: The Missing Link in the Analysis of Gender Gaps in Labour Outcomes, OECD Development Centre. https://www.oecd.org/dev/development-gender/Unpaid_care_work.pdfGoogle Scholar
Flippen, C. and Tienda, M. (2000), ‘Pathways to retirement: Patterns of labor force participation and labor market exit Among the pre-retirement population by race, Hispanic origin, and sex’, The Journals of Gerontology, Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 55, 1, S14–27.Google Scholar
Frericks, P. (2013), ‘Strengthening market principles in welfare institutions: How hybrid pension systems impact on social-risk spreading’, Journal of Social Policy, 42, 4, 665–83.Google Scholar
Gal, J. (2010), ‘Is there an extended family of Mediterranean welfare states?’, Journal of European Social Policy, 20, 4, 283300.Google Scholar
Gal, J. and Doron, A. (2000), ‘Dealing with the elusive welfare-to-work issue: The case of poverty traps in Israel’, Social Policy and Administration, 34, 3, 253‒73.Google Scholar
Gonyea, J. G. and Hooyman, N. R. (2005), ‘Reducing poverty among older women: Social Security reform and gender equity’, Families in Society, 86, 3, 338–46.Google Scholar
Harvey, D. (2005), A Brief History of Neoliberalism, Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Herbst, A. (2013), ‘Welfare Mom as Warrior Mom: Discourse in the 2003 Single Mothers' Protest in Israel, Journal of Social Policy, 42, 1, 129145Google Scholar
Herbst, A. and Benjamin, O. (2016), ‘Between activation and supporting women: Alternative operation of welfare-to-work programs’, Journal of Social Policy and Administration, 50, 5, 501519.Google Scholar
Herbst, A. and Kaplan, A. (2016), ‘Mothers’ post-divorce earnings in the context of welfare policy change’, International Journal of Social Welfare, 25, 3, 222234.Google Scholar
Holler, R. and Gal, J. (2011), ‘Subsidizing early childhood: Israel in a cross-national comparative perspective’, Social Security, 87, 3763 (Hebrew).Google Scholar
ISSP (2012), ‘International social survey programme: Family and changing gender roles, IV’, http://www.issp.org/page.php?pageId=168.Google Scholar
Izraeli, D. N. (1992), ‘Culture, policy and women in dual-earner families’, in Lewis, S., Izraeli, D.N. and Hootsmans, H. (eds.), Dual-Earner Families: An International Perspective, London: Sage, 1945.Google Scholar
Jacobs, J. C., Laporte, A., Van Houtven, C. H. and Coyte, P. C. (2014), ‘Caregiving intensity and retirement status in Canada’, Social Science & Medicine, 102, 7482.Google Scholar
Kalleberg, A. L. (2011), Good Jobs, Bad Jobs: The Rise of Polarized and Precarious Employment Systems in the United States, 1970s-2000s, New York: Russell Sage.Google Scholar
Korteweg, A. C. (2003), ‘Welfare reform and the subject of the working mother: Get a job, a better job, then a career’, Theory & Society, 32, 445–80.Google Scholar
Korteweg, A. C. (2006), ‘The construction of gendered citizenship at the welfare office: An ethnographic comparison of welfare-to-work workshops in the United States and the Netherlands’, Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society, 13, 3, 314–40.Google Scholar
Lee, Y. and Tang, F. (2015), ‘More caregiving, less working: Caregiving roles and gender difference’, Journal of Applied Gerontology, 34, 4, 465–83.Google Scholar
Lieblich, A., Tuval-Mashiach, R. and Zilber, T. (1998), Narrative research: Reading, analyzing and interpretation. Applied Social Research Methods Series, Vol. 47, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Lincoln, Y. S. and Guba, E.G. (1985), Naturalistic Inquiry, Beverly Hills: Sage.Google Scholar
Lloyd-Sherlock, P., Corso, B. and Minicuci, N. (2015), ‘Widowhood, socio-economic status, health and wellbeing in low and middle-income countries’, Journal of Development Studies, 51, 10, 1374–88.Google Scholar
Lurie, L. (2017), ‘Pension privatisation: Benefits and costs,’ Industrial Law Journal, doi:10.1093/indlaw/dwx021.Google Scholar
Manting, D. and Bouman, A. M. (2006), ‘Short- and long-term economic consequences of the dissolution of marital and consensual unions: The example of the Netherlands’, European Sociological Review, 22, 4, 413–29.Google Scholar
Millar, J. and Ridge, T. (2009), ‘Relationships of care: Working lone mothers, their children and employment sustainability’, Journal of Social Policy, 38, 1, 103–21.Google Scholar
Ministry of Finance (2015), ‘State revenue report, 2013–2014’, http://mof.gov.il/ChiefEcon/StateRevenues/StateRevenuesReport/DocLib/2013-2014/Report2013-2014_05.pdf (Hebrew).Google Scholar
Mizrahi-Simon, S. (2016), Employment of Arab Women, Jerusalem: Knesset Research and Information Center (Hebrew).Google Scholar
Monroe, P. A. and Tiller, V. V. (2001), ‘Commitment to work among welfare-reliant women’, Journal of Marriage and Family, 63, 3, 816–28.Google Scholar
OECD (2010), ‘Labour market and social policy review of Israel’, OECD.Google Scholar
OECD (2017), Starting Strong 2017: Key OECD Indicators on Early Childhood Education and Care, Paris: Author.Google Scholar
Olivera, J. and Ponomarenko, V. (2017), ‘Pension insecurity and wellbeing in Europe’, Journal of Social Policy, 46, 3, 517–42.Google Scholar
Peeters, H. and Wouter, D. T. (2015), ‘Lifecourses, pensions and poverty among elderly women in Belgium: Interactions between family history, work history and pension regulations’, Ageing and Society, 35, 6, 1171–99.Google Scholar
Peleg, D. (2006), ‘The pension reform in Israel, 2002–2004’, Social Security, 771, 84108 (Hebrew).Google Scholar
Pfau-Effinger, B. (2005), ‘Culture and welfare state policies: Reflections on a complex interrelation’, Journal of Social Policy, 34, 1, 320.Google Scholar
Pulkingham, J., Fuller, S. and Kershaw, P. (2010), ‘Lone motherhood, welfare reform and active citizen subjectivity’, Critical Social Policy, 30, 2, 267–91.Google Scholar
Raz-Yurovich, L. (2013), ‘Divorce penalty or divorce premium? A longitudinal analysis of the consequences of divorce for men's and women's economic activity, European Sociological Review, 29, 2, 373–85.Google Scholar
Renga, S., Molnar-Hidassy, D. and Tisheva, G. (2010), Direct and Indirect Gender Discrimination in Old-Age Pensions in 33 European Countries, European Network of Legal Experts in the Field of Gender Equality, European Commission, Directorate-General for Justice.Google Scholar
Rögnvaldsdóttir, S. and Pétursdóttir, G. M. (2012), ‘Will you still need me, will you still feed me? Old-age pensions in Iceland from a gender perspective’, Stjórnmál Og Stjórnsýsla, 8, 2, 469–90.Google Scholar
Spivak, A. and Zemach, S. (2017), ‘Mandatory Pension in Israel: Impacts on Old-age Risks and Inequality’, Jerusalem: Van Leer (Hebrew).Google Scholar
Ståhlberg, A., Kruse, A. and Sundén, A. (2005), ‘Pension design and gender: Analyses of developed and developing countries’, Gender Issues, 22, 3, 645.Google Scholar
Stier, H. (2010), ‘The end of the sole provider era: Families with two providers’, in Muhlbauer, V. and Kulik, L. (eds.), Working Families: Parents in the Labor Market in Israel. Social, Economic and Legal Perspectives, Rishon LeZion, Israel: Peles (Hebrew).Google Scholar
Strauss, A. and Corbin, J. (1990), Basics of Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory Procedures and Techniques, Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Suzman, R. and Beard, J. (2016), ‘Global health and aging’, http://www.who.int/ageing/publications/global_health.pdf.Google Scholar
Tinios, P., Bettio, F. and Betti, G. (2015), Men, Women and Pension, Luxembourg: European Commission.Google Scholar
Wertz, F. J., Charmaz, K., McMullen, L. M., Josselson, R., Anderson, R, and McSpadden, E. (2011), Five Ways of Doing Qualitative Analysis: Phenomenological Psychology, Grounded Theory, Discourse Analysis, Narrative Research and Intuitive Inquiry, New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Wright, S. (2012), ‘Welfare-to-work, agency and personal responsibility’, Journal of Social Policy, 41, 2, 309–28.Google Scholar
Yaron-Ambia, R. (2011), Woman of Valor: Operating Guide, Jerusalem: JDC-Israel (Hebrew).Google Scholar
Zeytinoglu, I. U. and Muteshi, J. K. (2000), ‘Gender, race and class dimensions of nonstandard work’, Relations Industrielles, 55, 1, 133–67.Google Scholar