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Women in the Mixed Economy of Welfare Essay

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The mixed economy of welfare has heavily impacted the life of women in Aotearoa New Zealand from the 1800s to the 21st century. The role of women has radically changed as New Zealand has gone through political and cultural reform. The state, the voluntary sector and the marketplace has had to accommodate for new needs of women and has given, in some cases, a better chance for equality between men and women. Significant changes in policy have been caused due to women gaining monetary independence through the workforce, status within a marriage and recognition as a mother. The policies related to these changes were the Domestic purposes Benefit policy, Equal Pay Act, Matrimonial act. These changes were flawed but still for some improve the …show more content…

As many women move from dependency on either a male-breadwinner or the state. For some women participation in the market has beneficial however because of discrimination, inequity and inequality the labour force is oppressive. As previously mentioned from the 1800s to the 1950s the state viewed women only as a wife or mother, therefore throughout this period women had were not participating in the paid workforce at the same level as men (Mclennan et al, 2010). By the 1980s participation of women in the workforce had radically risen as women were seeking the ability to “be able to choose what they do with their lives- to be homemakers full-time, to have a full-time paid job, or to be part-time in the workforce and part-time at home” (Office of the Minister of Women’s Affairs, 1985, p.4). The market met the needs of these women by providing opportunities for women to either work full-time or part-time, earn an independent income all with textbook equality with their male counterparts (Scott, 2003). The market through strongly encouraging women to work did meet the needs of some New Zealand women but solo mothers who were required to care full-time for infant children at home were not receiving any income and therefore were excluded (Scott, 2003)
The relationship between women and the voluntary sector within Aotearoa New Zealand is dynamic. From the colonial time period

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