Engendering the state : family, work, and welfare in Canada / Nancy Christie.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The development of the modern social security state in Canada saw an ideological shift away from the mother and welfare entitlements based on family reproduction, and toward state policies that promoted men's paid labour in the workplace.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

This study, based on personal papers, government and institutional records, popular magazines, and case files of welfare recipients, describes the attitudes and values of the working class, deconstructs the ideology of dominant groups, shows how working-class wives wielded considerable power, and demonstrates the links between classes as they emerged and changed. Tracing the origins of the Canadian welfare state and examining family policy within the context of sociocultural movements, state legislation, and the meaning of welfare provision as perceived by its largely female beneficiaries, Christie provides a fascinating history of the ideology and social structures that contributed to various welfare entitlements. Following a cultural perspective, she argues that patriarchal ideology banished women from the calculus of public policy and delineates the process of transformation from a maternal and needs-based welfare structure to a rights-based conception of citizenship. Welfare ent itlements were determined by changing ideas of what constituted the national interest. This well-researched study is rich in detailed description, filled with interesting case studies that illustrate the impact of patriarchal ideology and gender inequality. Christie makes a major contribution to the fields of gender and family studies, public policy, labor history, and political sociology. Upper-division undergraduates and above. D. A. Chekki University of Winnipeg