1996/08/01 by Ann Shola Orloff · 4 citations
Social Sciences · #Social Policy and Reform Studies #Gender Politics and Representation #Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics
paper · doi:10.1146/annurev.soc.22.1.51
openalex publication_date 1996/08/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/16
Gender relations—embodied in the sexual division of labor, compulsory heterosexuality, gendered forms of citizenship and political participation, ideologies of masculinity and femininity, and the like—profoundly shape the character of welfare states. Likewise, the institutions of social provision—the set of social assistance and social insurance programs and universal citizenship entitlements to which we refer as “the welfare state” —affect gender relations. Until recently, two broad approaches to gender relations and welfare states predominated: one which saw states contributing to the social reproduction of gender hierarchies, and a second which saw states having an ameliorative impact on gender inequality. More recently, two new strands of research have emerged emphasizing the variation in the effects of social policies on gender.