Family economy workers or caring mothers? Male breadwinning and Widows' Pensions in Norway and the UK

Abstract

This article examines the position of lone mothers within the male-breadwinner model of family economies and asks why some male-breadwinner countries have shifted more than others from treating lone mothers mainly as “mothers” toward treating them as “workers.” The countries chosen for comparison are Norway and the United Kingdom. Using a historical design, the author suggests there are different forms of male-breadwinner ideology, which may be more or less resistant to change. Empirically, the article compares policies toward widowed lone mothers, arguing that this category provides the best lens for a historical study of constructions of women's work. The analysis shows that the logic underlying widows' benefits in the two countries has been different: the key argument in Norway has been that women made a valuable contribution to the family economy, while in the UK, policy-makers emphasized the mother's continued caring presence in the home.

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