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"Child Poverty" and Its Implications for Women

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The Framing of Poverty as “Child Poverty” and Its Implications for Women Wanda Wiegers The research and publication of this study were funded by Status of Women Canada’s Policy Research Fund. This document expresses the views of the author and does not necessarily represent the official policy of Status of Women Canada or the Government of Canada. June 2002 Status of Women Canada is committed to ensuring that all research produced through the Policy Research Fund adheres to high methodological, ethical and professional standards. Specialists in the field anonymously review each paper and provide comments on: • the accuracy, completeness and timeliness of the information presented; • the extent to which the methodology used and the data collected support the analysis and recommendations; and • the original contribution the report would make to existing work on this subject, and its usefulness to equality- seeking organizations, advocacy communities, government policy makers, researchers and other target audiences. Status of Women Canada thanks those who contribute to this peer-review process. Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Wiegers, Wanda The framing of poverty as “child poverty” and its implications for women [electronic resource] Issued also in French under title: Établissement du cadre de la pauvreté dans le contexte de la pauvreté chez les enfants et les incidences sur les femmes Issued also in print format. Includes bibliographical references. Mode of access: WWW site of Status of Women Canada. ISBN 0-662-32217-7 Cat. no. SW21-94/2002E-IN 1. Poor children – Government policy – Canada. 2. Poor women – Government policy – Canada. 3. Family policy – Canada. 4. Sex discrimination against women – Canada. I. Canada. Status of Women Canada. II. Title. HV745.A6W53 2002 362.7'086'9420971 C200-980140-0 Project Manager: Vesna Radulovic, Status of Women Canada Publishing Co-ordinator: Cathy Hallessey, Status of Women Canada Editing and Layout: PMF Editorial Services Inc. / PMF Services de rédaction inc. Translation: Lexi-tech Translation Co-ordinator: Jo Anne de Lepper, Status of Women Canada For more information contact: Research Directorate Status of Women Canada 123 Slater Street, 10th Floor Ottawa, Ontario K1P 1H9 Telephone: (613) 995-7835 Facsimile: (613) 957-3359 TDD: (613) 996-1322 E-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT This report examines the sources and implications of a focus on “child poverty” in state policy discourse in Canada over the last two decades. The author traces and documents the emergence of this emphasis and identifies a number of contributing factors and events. The report examines the interrelationship between women’s poverty and that of children, and explores the implications of a governmental focus on child poverty in terms of reducing women’s inequality and poverty. The dominant assumptions and norms underlying the framing of poverty as child poverty are identified and linked to policy responses to child poverty to date. The policies examined include the Federal Child Support Guidelines, the National Child Benefit and the Early Childhood Development Initiative of the National Children’s Agenda. Finally, the report briefly examines a range of alternative discursive strategies in terms of their potential impact on women’s experience of poverty and inequality. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS........................................................................iii PREFACE...................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS............................................................................................... v EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................ vi 1. INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................1 2. THE EMERGENCE OF THE FRAMING OF POVERTY AS CHILD POVERTY... 6 Restructuring Discourse and Policy: Changes in the Labour Market, Family Forms and the Welfare State........................................................................ 6 Children’s Rights and International Scrutiny............................................................ 10 Empirical Research and Justifications for a Focus on Child Poverty ........................ 12 The Impact of Social Movements and Interest Groups............................................. 17 Parliamentary and Senate Debates, Committees and Task Forces............................. 20 Summary................................................................................................................. 26 3. THE INTERRELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WOMEN’S POVERTY AND CHILD POVERTY........................................................................................ 27 Women as Mothers.................................................................................................. 28 Mothers as Low-Wage, Marginalized Workers........................................................ 33 Not All Women Are Mothers................................................................................... 38 Summary................................................................................................................. 40 4. CHILD POVERTY: UNDERLYING ASSUMPTIONS AND NORMS................... 42 Reinforcement of an Individualistic Approach to Poverty........................................ 42 Illusions of Gender Equality .................................................................................... 50 Summary................................................................................................................. 55 5. THE IMPACT OF SPECIFIC CHILD-FOCUSSED ANTI-POVERTY INITIATIVES ON WOMEN................................................................................... 57 Child Support Guidelines......................................................................................... 57 The National Child Benefit...................................................................................... 68 The Early Childhood Development Initiative Under the National Children’s Agenda.................................................................................... 79 Summary................................................................................................................. 85 6. STRATEGIES FOR CHANGING HOW WE TALK ABOUT POVERTY.............. 86 From Pity to Respect and Social Justice................................................................... 86 Contesting Dominant Discourses............................................................................. 87 A Women’s Agenda and/or a Children’s Agenda?................................................... 89 ii An Inclusive Women’s Agenda ............................................................................... 92 Specific Anti-Poverty Discursive Strategies............................................................. 93 Summary................................................................................................................. 96 7. CONCLUSION......................................................................................................... 97 BIBLIOGRAPHY....................................................................................................... 100 ENDNOTES ............................................................................................................... 119 ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS CAP Canada Assistance Plan CCSD Canadian Council on Social Development CCTB Canada Child Tax Benefit CHST Canada Health and Social Transfer CICS Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat CLC Canadian Labour Congress CPAG Child Poverty Action Group CSPC Community Social Planning Council of Toronto CTB Child Tax Benefit ECC Economic Council of Canada ECD Early Childhood Development FLC Federal/Provincial/Territorial Family Law Committee FPTAC Federal, Provincial and Territorial Advisory Committee on Population Health GDP Gross domestic product HRDC Human Resources Development Canada LICO Low-income cut-off LIM Low-income measure NAPO National Anti-Poverty Organization NAWL National Association of Women and the Law NCA National Children’s Agenda NCB National Child Benefit NCW National Council of Welfare NGO Non-governmental organization NLCY National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth OSSN Ontario Social Safety Network SARCO Social Assistance Review Committee PREFACE Good public policy depends on good policy research. In recognition of this, Status of Women Canada instituted the Policy Research Fund in 1996. It supports independent policy research on issues linked to the public policy agenda and in need of gender-based analysis. Our objective is to enhance public debate on gender equality issues in order to enable individuals, organizations, policy makers and policy analysts to participate more effectively in the development of policy. The focus of the research may be on long-term, emerging policy issues or short-term, urgent policy issues that require an analysis of their gender implications. Funding is awarded through an open, competitive call for proposals. A non-governmental, external committee plays a key role in identifying policy research priorities, selecting research proposals for funding and evaluating the final reports. This policy research paper was proposed and developed under a call for proposals in September 1999, on Where have all the women gone? Changing shifts in policy discourses. This report
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