Women caregivers, women wage earners : Social policy perspectives in Norway

Abstract

This paper assesses the connection between women's political representation and social policies affecting the welfare of the group of individuals most vulnerable to economic impoverishment, single mothers. In general, integrative wage labor and child-care policies are progressing at a faster rate in the small and homogeneous society of Norway as compared to the U.S.A. Norway, however, lags behind other Scandinavian nations in initiating some of the components of comprehensive child care policies, including mother's allowance, transitional benefit allowance, reduction in the gender gap in earnings, parental leave, day care, child support collection, and income disregard to enable welfare recipients to make successful transition into wage labor. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of feminist scholarship and activism, which first must impact values and philosophies underlying policy formulations before significant improvements in the welfare of mother-headed families can be accomplished.