Tackling gender-based inequality at the nexus of employment, social security, and care: what next for women?

Gender, Womens Policy Action Tank, Policy and governancePower to Persuade12 December 2022Gender Inequity, welfare-to-work, welfare conditionality, care work, Single mothers

If we want Australian children to grow up free from poverty, we must support those raising them – especially sole parents

This year marks the 20th year of Australia dedicating a week to act on poverty and Anti-Poverty Week 2022, 16-22 October (@AntiPovertyWeek) is calling on our Parliamentarians to legislate a plan to halve child poverty in Australia by 2030. To achieve real change, Life Course Centre (@lifecourseAust) researchers Dr Alice Campbell (@ColtonCambo) and Professor Janeen Baxter (@JaneenBaxter7) highlight the prevalence of single parent families in poverty and the need for targeted supports.

Womens Policy Action TankLife Course Centre18 October 2022Poverty, Single mothers, Children, family violence

Dear Prime Minister: Single mothers are asking for some hope

Single mothers have been consistently the most poverty-stricken household type for years, and the last Labor government infamously moved thousands onto the (then) NewStart Allowance. With the recent federal election outcome, Terese Edwards (@Terese_NCSMC) of the National Council for Single Mothers and Their Children shares an open letter to Anthony Albanese, who was himself raised by a single mother in difficult financial circumstances. Her letter is interspersed with the messages from single mothers to the new Prime Minister.

Medicare, The Education Department and a Real Estate Agent walk into a bar… Small changes equal big trouble on JobSeeker

Just days away from the Federal election, all candidates are campaigning hard. Unfortunately there are gaps in the policies on the table; a big one is the lack of focus on the social safety net and whether it is actually supporting people out of poverty. In today’s analysis, Juanita McLaren (@defrostedlady) shares just how quickly a well-managed budget can be undone, in part by changes to policies in other silos that don’t consider the constrictive budget many families need to live on.

Basic Income, Gender and Human Rights: reinforcing inequalities or transformative action?

The concept of a basic income, paid indiscriminately to all by the government, has had increasing support from people on all sides of politics, and this interest has only increased with the onset of COVID-19. Such a proposal has important implications for women, who are more likely to live in poverty and precarity due to their unpaid social roles. In today’s analysis, Beth Goldblatt of UTS (@UTSLaw) and the Australian Work + Family Roundtable provides a gender-sensitive human rights analysis of how a basic income could be designed to support economic justice for women. This analysis is drawn from her article Basic Income, Gender and Human Rights, recently published in the University of Oxford Human Rights Hub Journal.

Ramping up punitive mechanisms in employment services: Single mothers are the canary in the coalmine

This week Parliament will release their report on the Coronavirus supplements that have been added to selected income support payments, most notably JobSeeker. It is therefore timely to consider the impacts the government’s plan to taper off the supplement until payments are back to pre-COVID levels will have on the thousand who are currently relying on income support. In today’s analysis, Simone Casey (@SimoneCasey) of Per Capita (@PerCapita) shares her research into the impacts of the pre-pandemic ‘activation’ mechanisms on single mothers, which presages the wider impacts to be felt as the supplements disappear and mutual obligation requirements are reintroduced. This analysis is drawn from a recently-published article in AJSI which can be accessed here.

Trampolines not traps: Listening to single mothers about what needs to change

Low-income single mothers continue to be caught in the binds of poverty and insecurity, with limited choices and opportunities. Despite some policy changes, including a temporary increase in social security payments and suspension of mutual obligation requirements, the underlying infrastructure of inequality remains. In today’s analysis, Dina Bowman (@Dina_Bowman) and Seuwandi Wickramasinghe, both of the Brotherhood of St Laurence (@BrotherhoodInfo), share a summary of their recently-published report Trampolines not traps: Enabling economic security for single mothers and their children.

Dear Senators: For many of us the pandemic is a blessing

In response to the Coronavirus pandemic, the Federal government has provided a temporary $550 supplement to many income support payments. These are due to be reduced on 24 September. For many families who have been reliant on income support, this effective doubling of payments has meant a more stable and healthy life. In today’s important analysis, we republish a lightly-edited letter to Senator Marise Payne, Minister for Women, and Senator Anne Ruston, Minister for Families and Social Services, authored by Terese Edwards (@Terese_NCSMC) of the National Council for Single Mothers and their Children, and Casandra Goldie (@CassandraGoldie), CEO of ACOSS (@ACOSS). The letter puts forward the case for making the supplement permanent because it assists women to leave domestic and family violence, and is interspersed with testimonies from women about the impact of the supplement on the family. This letter has been endorsed by several agencies.

550 Reasons to Smile: Why single mothers are so happy these days

Single mother-headed households are consistently the poorest household type in Australia, and the Women’s Policy Action Tank has published many analyses that illuminate their dire situation. In today’s analysis, Terese Edwards (@Terese_NCSMC) of the National Council for Single Mothers and Their Children provide us with a piece full of hope and excitement, detailing how the temporary rise in welfare payments have changed lives and provided hope.

For single mothers, financial concerns have been top of the list for far too long

Millions of Australians are currently dependent on some form of government welfare payment, and many are experiencing financial stress for the first time. As the consistently poorest household type in Australia, single mothers are disproportionately acquainted with the distress of trying to maintain a household on low welfare payments and precious employment. Unsurprisingly, new ABS data indicates that single mothers have had the worst employment outcomes during COVID-19. In today’s analysis, Margaret Ambrose of the Council for Single Mothers and their Children reports on the findings of a national survey of single mothers to uncover what their pain points are, and how these might be addressed to increase their financial security and place them and their children on a positive trajectory.

Compulsory cashless welfare programs harm women and children

With the recent announcement by the Coalition Government to expand the use of the Cashless Debit Card (CDC) to more people on income support, it is continuing to be positioned as a positive intervention, providing people who need it most with a ‘financial literacy tool.’ With approximately 2.3 million people receiving some form of income support, there is currently great interest in how the Card, as well as other forms of cashless welfare, are experienced by those who have been subjected to these policies. Today’s important piece by researchers Zoe Staines (@Zoettes), Greg Marston, Philip Mendes, Shelley Bielefeld and Michelle Peterie (@MichPeterie) draw on their ground-breaking independent report into experiences and impacts of cashless welfare to explain how women and children are adversely affected.

Poverty in Australia 2020: What does a gendered analysis reveal?

Today marks the release of the second ACOSS and UNSW Poverty in Australia report, an important document to keep civil society and government accountable to those who are being left behind in one of the most prosperous countries on Earth. In today’s analysis, Policy Whisperer Susan Maury (@SusanMaury) of Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand (@GoodAdvocacy) provides a gendered analysis of the Poverty in Australia report.

Debts and Disappointment: How Single Mothers and their Children Experience the Australian Child Support System

Single mothers are the most impoverished household type in Australia. Receipt of child support can keep single parent households out of poverty, however research indicates those in greatest need are also the most likely to miss out. In today’s analysis, Zoë Goodall (@ZAGoodall) and Policy Whisperer Kay Cook (@KayCookPhd) both of Swinburne University, and Terese Edwards (@Terese_NCSMC) of the National Council of Single Mothers and their Children share highlights from their new report into how women experience the child support system and why it is often difficult to receive payments.

Supercharging discrimination: The Targeted Compliance Framework and the impact of automated decision-making

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty is preparing a report on the human rights impact of the introduction of digital technologies in social security systems. The Human Rights Law Centre made a submission to the Special Rapporteur focusing on Australia’s social security system and how technology is increasingly being used to target and punish people, especially single mothers, through programs like ParentsNext. Monique Hurley (@monique_hurley) from the Human Rights Law Centre (@RightsAgenda) summarises their submission, focusing on the gendered impacts. The full submission is available here. More information about the Special Rapporteur’s report is available here.

Do the Hustle: How I make ends meet as a single parent

The Coalition’s stance on income support is “the best form of welfare is a job.” For many people on The Newstart Allowance, however, one job doesn’t cut it. In today’s analysis, the insightful Juanita McLaren (@defrostedlady) takes us through her tax return to demonstrate how Welfare to Work policies incentivise decisions around employment, education, income support and debt for single mothers.

Thanks for asking… Mothers say ParentsNext puts parents last

With the outcome of the recent federal election, the Coalition’s ‘pre-employment’ program known as ParentsNext looks set to continue indefinitely. While a recent Senate Inquiry found the program to be deeply flawed and often harmful to participants, the program is not without its defenders. In today’s piece, Ella Buckland (@EllaNBuckland), who has become a strong advocate for women who are enrolled and is leading a petition to have the program made voluntary, writes about her own experiences and those of other mothers who are on the program in an effort to set the record straight on the program’s merits.

Child support and the F word

Poverty in Australia appears to be entrenched for many marginalised groups, and this is a concern which is regularly raised in the lead-up to the Federal election – is Australia “fair”? However, one policy area on which there is resounding silence is child support. In today’s federal election series, Kris Natalier (@KrisNatalier) of Flinders University and Terese Edwards (@Terese_NCSMC) of the National Council for Single Mothers and their Children argue that child support reform is urgently needed to reduce poverty levels and improve financial and psychological wellbeing for some of Australia’s most disadvantaged families.

“I should be able to provide that”: How Welfare-to-Work Affects Low-Income Single Mothers’ Food Provision

With the recent release of the jobactive inquiry report and the current inquiry into ParentsNext, today’s policy analysis could not be more timely. Natalie Jovanovski provides a summary[i] of research she conducted with Policy Whisperer Kay Cook into how current Welfare to Work policies inform single mothers’ food provisioning practices, and the consequent impacts on mental and physical health for both the mothers and their children.

ParentsNext doesn’t get much right – but it could with some meaningful co-design

This week the Senate Inquiry into ParentsNext, including its trial and subsequent broader rollout published its first round of submissions. This follows months of public scrutiny after the program’s national rollout in July 2018. Sarah Squire (@SquireSarah) and Policy Whisperer Susan Maury (@SusanMaury) summarise Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand’s (@GoodAdvocacy)’ submission to the inquiry and suggest an alternative approach.