BIROn - Birkbeck Institutional Research Online

    A problem shared? The role of the public in the legitimation of policy: a case study of gendered welfare change in the United Kingdom

    Richards-Gray, Laura (2022) A problem shared? The role of the public in the legitimation of policy: a case study of gendered welfare change in the United Kingdom. Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society 29 (2), pp. 536-559. ISSN 1072-4745.

    [img]
    Preview
    Text
    Article_A Problem Shared.pdf - Author's Accepted Manuscript

    Download (326kB) | Preview

    Abstract

    This article argues that shared problematizations—shared political and public ways of thinking—legitimize policies and their outcomes. To support this argument, it examines the legitimation of gendered welfare reform in the recent U.K. context. Drawing on focus groups with the public, it provides evidence that the public’s problematization of welfare, specifically that reform was necessary to “make work pay” and “restore fairness”, aligned with that of politicians. It argues that the assumptions and silences underpinning this shared problematization, especially silences relating to the value and necessity of care, have allowed for welfare policies that have disadvantaged women.

    Metadata

    Item Type: Article
    Additional Information: This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication following peer review. The version of record is available online at the link above.
    School: Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences
    Research Centres and Institutes: Birkbeck Centre for British Political Life
    Depositing User: Laura Richards-Gray
    Date Deposited: 07 Jun 2021 12:10
    Last Modified: 13 Feb 2024 11:06
    URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/44392

    Statistics

    Activity Overview
    6 month trend
    59Downloads
    6 month trend
    156Hits

    Additional statistics are available via IRStats2.

    Archive Staff Only (login required)

    Edit/View Item Edit/View Item