Women, Work and the Everyday Politics of Welfare - (Civil Society and Social Change) by Helen Blakely (Paperback)

About the Book

Drawing on longitudinal research in the south Wales Valleys, this book attends to the everyday politics of welfare through its rhetorical imaginings, the practices of street level workers and across the interactions of women themselves.

Book Synopsis

The restructuring of the welfare state in the UK has marked a significant change in the way contemporary society is ordered and understood. This research monograph explores the implications of this restructuring for women and their attachments to unpaid care, paid work and activism over time.

Drawing on longitudinal research involving ethnographic and narrative inquiry in the south Wales Valleys, the contribution attends to the everyday politics of welfare through its rhetorical imaginings, the practices of street level workers and across the interactions of women themselves.

Immersive and critical, the account provides valuable insights for our understanding of welfare restructuring and the future development of the welfare state.

Review Quotes

"This is an important book, providing a rarely heard perspective on women's lives and deindustrialisation in contemporary South Wales. Through detailed observations and local voices, we gain an understanding of life as it is lived on the edge. Here, where welfare, poverty and insecurity are ever present, we hear laughter and feel a sense of determination." Huw Beynon, Cardiff University

"A vivid portrait of women's experiences of welfare reform, solidarity and activism in Wales." Sharon Wright, University of Glasgow

About the Author