ABSTRACT
This chapter begins by assessing evidence to see whether employment and benefits policies have radically altered women’s access to an adequate and reliable livelihood. At the beginning of the century women who were officially part of the paid workforce generally spent long hours in paid employment. The economic position of working women in the twentieth century has been affected not only by lower pay, but also by the fact that earnings have been irregular and discontinuous, providing little opportunity to save or make plans. Women campaigned at the beginning of the twentieth century to have female unemployment recognized by the State. State welfare benefits have the potential to compensate for the vulnerable economic position of women and especially mothers. Childcare has been provided directly by the State, to varying degrees, through most of the century. The chapter concludes by examining a series of alternative policies that could work in women’s economic interests and some strategies for achieving them.
