“This Country Is Not Woman-Friendly or Child-Friendly”: Talking About the Challenge of Moving from Welfare-to-Work

Abstract

ABSTRACT Through the use of focus groups, this paper examines how former welfare recipients living in public housing in New York City adapted to the policy changes caused by welfare reform, how they experienced their transition to the “world of work” and how this affected their perceptions about their quality of life and their personal and familial relationships. The primary theme that emerged from the focus group sessions was the difficulties reconciling parenthood with employment. A second theme was that many participants felt discouraged and frustrated with the paths available to them in the labor market. Labor market conditions in New York City only exacerbated participants' difficulties maintaining employment and supporting a family, heightening the tensions between parenthood and paid employment. Their frustrations with the paid labor market fed back into the primary theme of the difficulties reconciling parenthood with employment because the paid labor market did not offer them well-paying part-time work or flexible schedules to help the participants meet their parental responsibilities. The third theme was that self-esteem improved greatly with employment. Here, the analysis brings to light the effects of the tension between paid employment and care giving on self-esteem and the relative lack of value that society places on caring labor.