Gender Equalising and Gender Neutral Policies and Their Pitfalls: A Typology of the Gender Dimensions of Social Policies

Abstract

The restructuring of modern capitalist welfare states is characterised by the tendency to individualise social protection. This article develops a simple and conceptually sound typology to analyse and classify these reforms and measures with regard to their effects on women's financial well-being. It distinguishes between policy measures that aim to improve women's financial situations, policies that reduce women's benefits and ‘gender neutral’ policies. For distinguishing between policies that have a positive or negative effect on women's (own) financial situation, I introduce three sets of criteria. The direct elimination of negative discriminatory constraints can work out positively for women. On the other hand, if the conditions that originally motivated the establishment of positive discrimination remain, the elimination of earlier forms of (positive) discrimination can bring unexpected hardship. Therefore, their abolition is often is phased in over quite long periods of time. Other policies that offer new opportunities may benefit certain specific groups of women. However, for a majority of women, they entail a proportional reduction in their entitlements.