Within Household Inequalities and Public Policy

Fran Bennett (University of Oxford)

Gender Equality Network/EHRC seminar 23 May 2008

Research project• ESRC funded Gender Equality Network (

www.genet.ac.uk) – Project 5

• Within Household Inequalities and Public Policy: Fran Bennett, Sue Himmelweit, Holly Sutherland, Sirin Sung, Jerome de Henau

• Qualitative, quantitative and policy simulation elements

Overview of projectThe family is a key site of distribution (of resources, time and labour) (Daly and Rake, 2003, Lister, 2005) - but is often a ‘black box’ which is not investigated and in which equality is assumed.

Aims: • To explore alternative approaches to

understanding the behavioural and distributional impact of policy change which take account of gender inequalities in power and influence in the household

• To use such approaches to analyse the effects of actual and potential changes in fiscal, social security and associated labour market policies

Relevant policy developments

• Separation of tax credits into WTC for earner(?) and CTC for ‘main carer’

• Joint claims for JSA: new duties, no benefit

• Abolition of most working age dependants’ increases (except in means-tested benefits)

• More change in women’s relations with state - but action on claimants’ partners ceased? + work-focused interviews for carers halted

Obstacles to gender awareness

• Family: ‘unitary household’ view

• Time: analysis of household at one point, not individuals over lifecycle - eg ‘workless’/ ‘work-rich versus work-poor’ (households) + ‘family-friendly tax’ (meaning 1 vs 2 earners)

• Benefits: seen as primarily for household need, rather than social protection over lifetime or individual citizenship rights

Government views

• ‘Net tax rate’ for families - but income tax and NI contributions are individually based

• Highlights redistribution to women – but largely for others; and amounts, not roles/ relationships/resources (Daly & Rake, 2003)

• Tension between individualisation in labour market policies and joint assessment/joint ownership in benefits and tax credits?

Gender and money issues

• From previous research, we know that it is not just how much income comes into the household which may be important but also:

- where income is from (source)

- why it is being paid (purpose)

- who receives it (recipient)

- what it is called (labelling) and

- how it is managed and controlled

Qualitative research: overview

• Aim: to identify policy-relevant factors influencing gendered division of power

• Qualitative research:

- uncover within-household processes

- identify indicators of intra-household division of power and wellbeing

- explore gendered impact of recent and potential policy changes

Qualitative research: sample

• Semi-structured, separate interviews with

people in 30 low/moderate income couples

• Sample from BHPS/ECHP (booster)

• Heterosexual couples, mostly both of

working age, had children at some point

• In England, Wales, Scotland (not N Ireland)

• If possible, in receipt of means-tested

benefits/tax credits, now and/or in past

Unitary household ?

• Drivers to jointness strong in our sample:- virtually all were married (many remarried)- all had had children at some point- living on low/moderate income

• Expressed loyalty to couple/family found(‘all in one pot’, ‘no yours and mine’, ‘you never dream by yourself’)

• Joint account symbolic of togetherness (but in practice, degree of jointness varied)

Benefits/tax credits• Speculative questions often difficult

• Issues of payee/ownership harder to disentangle than envisaged

• Insistence that many benefits/tax credits belonged to/were for family

• Lifecycle individual perspective lacking

• So were gender and money issues from previous research irrelevant?

Income: source and purpose

• Different sources affect sense of entitlement

• ‘Money in own right’ meaningless to many men; but not having to ask key for women

• Women aware of individual/family tensions

• Contradictory statements by men/women eg joint claim for TC right; WTC belongs to him

• Commonly man’s wage into joint account, benefit(s)/tax credits into woman’s

Income: recipient and label

• Contributions may give sense of ownership

• Joint claims/ownership not seen as problem - but frustration about joint assessment?

• Carer’s allowance and disability benefits can give (degree of) autonomy/voice

• Benefits could be seen as contribution

• Virtually no questioning of child benefit

• ‘Main carer’ (for child tax credit) resented

Income: management/control

• Not just what/where from but how handled

• Knowledge of family income was gendered

• Traditional gender roles key (pocket money for man, ‘I’m bills she’s food’) – but may coexist with strong desire for independence

• Timing of payments important (changing)

• Deprivation for women due to both managing role & desire for independence?

Goals and policy dilemmas• How to protect those in traditional roles

whilst not solidifying gender roles?

• How to ensure individual income whilst not undermining move to paid work?

• How to move towards autonomy whilst not assuming it has been achieved?

• To what extent to share caring more in society or between men and women?

Potential policy directions?

• Emphasise societal support for caring and maintain benefits to meet costs (otherwise likely to be burden on women)

• Instead of extra support to one partner in couple investigate situation of other partner

• Extend social protection for individuals

• Support gender role sharing

• Consider wider households not just families