Working from the Margins: Voices of Mothers in Poverty - Softcover

Schein, Virginia

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0875463428 ISBN 13: 9780875463421

Publisher: ILR Press, 1995

Synopsis

Virginia E. Schein shatters the stereotype of mothers on welfare. The women she interviewed in cities, towns, and rural areas talked to her about their deep committment to the children they are raising in poverty, about the abuse they have endured, about their eagerness for meaningful work, and about their inventiveness in stretching scarce dollars. In a policy debate increasingly dominated by shrill, punitive voices, Schein argues that the experiences and collective wisdom of these women cannot be ignored.

About this title

About the Author

Dr. Virginia E. Schein is Professor Emerita of Management and Psychology, Gettysburg College and an International Consultant and Lecturer in the area of Gender and Leadership.

From Booklist

If every U.S. welfare mother got a full-time job tomorrow, millions of single-parent families would still be mired in poverty. To refocus the noisy "welfare reform" debate on this grim reality, organizational psychologist Schein, chair of Gettysburg College's Department of Management, conducted in-depth interviews with 30 poor single mothers in cities, towns, and rural areas. Her goal: to find out who the people behind the stereotype are, why they sought help from the system, and what they need to pull their families out of poverty. While the voices of the single women dominate this study, Schein adds cogent analysis of patterns their stories reveal: for example, "the ABCs of poverty and the single mother" (absence of training for a good-paying job, betrayal by her children's father, negative childhood and family experiences); and a "three-legged stool" of policy prescriptions ("income opportunities, social support and linking systems, and help and healing" ). Despite the huge obstacles to Schein's proposals, her study is a timely reminder that our real problem is not the "welfare mess" itself, but the widespread, dehumanizing poverty this overburdened, bureaucratic system struggles so clumsily to ameliorate. Mary Carroll

Edition details

• Publisher: ILR Press
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0875463428
• ISBN 13: 9780875463421
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 192