How Our Welfare State Can Make or Break the Patriarchy

It is not well known, but welfare states can both perpetuate and ameliorate gender-related inequalities. We are all aware of the ‘traditional’ division of labour that perpetuates the implicit assumption that  men control the economic resources of the family – a key resource of power relations in the patriarchal family. However, what we will find out, is that the traditional gender division of labour is so strong, that it has been built into economic theory, institutionalising the ‘male breadwinner model’. To discuss the institutional biases against women we had Dr Mary Crawford from the Queensland University of Technology who specialises in government, politics, gender and business.