Skip to main content
Log in

Work Opportunities in a Non-Traditional Setting for Women Exiting Welfare: A Case Study

  • Published:
Journal of Family and Economic Issues Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to explore key issues regarding the need to provide jobs for women who are making the transition from welfare to wage work. A traditionally male-dominated industry, the secondary wood products industry, in a ten-parish rural region in northern Louisiana is used as a case study. One goal of the project is to explore barriers to expanding job opportunities for women in this industry, which is located in an economically disadvantaged region of the state. In-depth personal interviews were conducted with employers and business owners in this industry, and focus group discussions were conducted among employees at selected sites. Potential barriers to employing women in this industry are discussed, and recommendations for reducing barriers are made.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Administration for Children and Families. (1996). The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. [On-line]. Available: www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/opa/facts/prwora96.htm.

  • Beaulieu, L. J. (1998). Welfare reform: An overview of key provisions. Information Brief of the Southern Rural Development Center. [On-line]. Available: www.ces.msstate.edu/~srdc.

  • Brayfield, A., & Hofferth, S. L. (1995). Balancing the family budget: Differences in child care expenditures by race/ethnicity, economic status, and family structure. Social Science Quarterly, 76, 158-177.

    Google Scholar 

  • Browne, I. (1997). Explaining the Black-White gap in labor force participation among women heading households. American Sociological Review, 62, 236-252.

    Google Scholar 

  • Center for Business and Economic Research: Department of Economic Development. (1995). Parish Profiles. [On-line] Available: http://leap.nlu.edu/pprof96/shrevepo.htm.

  • Diller, M. (1998). Working without a job: The social messages of the new workfare. Stanford Law and Policy Review, 9(1), 19-43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Edelman, P., & Bischak, G. (1997). Notes from the National Rural Development Council welfare reform meeting. [On-line] Available: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/nrdp/edelman.html.

  • Edin, K., & Lein, L. (1997). Making ends meet: How single mothers survive welfare and low-wage work. New York: Russell Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, D. (1990). What motivates trainees. Training & Development Journal, 44, 91-93.

    Google Scholar 

  • Geller, P. A., & Hobfoll, S. E. (1994). Gender differences in job stress, tedium, and social support in the workplace. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 11, 555-572.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gensler, H. (1996). The effect of welfare on migration. Social Science Research, 25, 281-291.

    Google Scholar 

  • Groginsky, S., & Smith, S. (1997). Overview of Federal Welfare Law and Child Care Provisions. [On-line]. Available: http://www.ncsl.org/statefed/welfare/ccsum.htm.

  • Harris, K. M. (1996). Life after welfare: Women, work, and repeat dependency. American Sociological Review, 61, 407-426.

    Google Scholar 

  • Institute for Women's Policy Research. (1997). Child Care and Welfare Reform. [On-line]. Available: http://www.iwpr.org/WRNN6.HTM#research.

  • Jencks, C. (1992). Rethinking social policy: Race, poverty and the underclass. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, N. B., & Provan, K. G. (1995). The relationship between work/family benefits and earnings: A test of competing predictions. The Journal of Socio-Economics, 24(4), 571-584.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, B., & Ray, H. (1993). Employee-developed pay system increases productivity. Personnel Journal, 72(11), 112-117.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keefer, P. B., Monroe, P. A., Atkinson, E. S., & Garrison, M. E. (1996). Child care as an impediment to rural women's labor force participation. Family Perspective, 30(3), 257-274.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirschenman, J., & Neckerman, K. M. (1991). “We'd love to hire them, but...”: The meaning of race for employers. In C. Jencks & P. E. Peterson (Eds.), The urban underclass (pp. 203-232). Washington DC: Brookings.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krueger, R. A. (1994). Focus groups: A practical guide for applied research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leahy, P. J., Buss, T. F., & Quane, J. M. (1995) Time on welfare: Why do people enter and leave the system? American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 54, 33-47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Monroe, P. A., & Tiller, V. R. (1998, November). Deconstructing commitment to work and family among welfare reliant women. Paper presented at the annual Theory Construction and Research Methodology Workshop of the National Council on Family Relations, Milwaukee, WI.

  • National Partnership for Women and Families. (1998). Recent welfare reform legislation erects new barriers to employment for low-income women. [On-line] Available: ttp://www.nationalpartnership.org/workandfamily/workplace/lowincome/barriers2.htm.

  • Nord, M., & Beaulieu, L. J. (1997). Spatial mismatch: The challenge of welfare-to-work in the rural South. Southern Perspectives, Newsletter of the Southern Rural Development Center. [On-line] Available: www.ces.msstate.edu/~srdc.

  • Oliker, S. J. (1995). The proximate contexts of workfare and work: A framework for studying poor women's economic choices. The Sociological Quarterly, 36, 251-272.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perlmutter, F. D. (1997). From welfare to work: Corporate initiatives and welfare reform. New York: Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rank, M. R. (1985). Exiting from welfare: A life-table analysis. The Social Science Review, 59, 358-376.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rank, M. R. (1986). Family structure and the process of exiting from welfare. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 48, 607-618.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rank, M. R. (1994a). A view from the inside out: Recipients' perceptions of welfare. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 21(2), 27-47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rank, M. R. (1994b). Living on the edge: The realities of welfare in America. New York: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Regional Economic Measurement Division, U. S. Department of Commerce. (1995). Bearfacts. [On-line] Available: http://leap.nlu.edu/docs1/BFACT.

  • Rieger, B. J. (1995). Lessons in productivity and people. Training & Development Journal, 49(10), 56-58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rose, N. E. (1995). Workfare or fair work: Women, welfare, and government work programs. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenbaum, J. E., & Popkin, S. J. (1991). Employment and earnings of low-income Blacks who move to middle-class suburbs. In C. Jencks & P. E. Peterson (Eds.), The urban underclass. (pp 342-356). Washington, DC: Brookings.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stephenson, E. F., Jr. (1997). Even the underprivileged are rational: The incentive effects of welfare. Journal of Labor Research, 18(2), 367-372.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tweedie, J. (1996). Time limits in welfare reform. [On-line]. Available: www.ncsl.org/statefed/welfare/timlim.htm.

  • U. S. Bureau of the Census. (1990a). Income and Poverty Characteristics. [On-line] Available: http://leap.nlu.edu/INCPV.

  • U. S. Bureau of the Census. (1990b). Social Characteristics. [On-line] Available: http://leap.nlu.edu/SOCLC.

  • U. S. Bureau of the Census. (1990c.) General Profile: Population and Housing Characteristics. [On-line] Available: http://leap.nlu.edu/POPHS.

  • U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (1997a). Facts About Sexual Harassment. [On-line]. Available: http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/fs-sex.html.

  • U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (1997b). Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. [On-Line]. Available: http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/vii.html.

  • Vlosky, R., Chance, P., Monroe, P., Hughes, D., & Blalock, L. (1998a). A market-based strategy for rural development in northwest Louisiana: Maximizing opportunities through value-added forest products industries. Report prepared for and submitted to funder, Economic Development Administration, US Department of Commerce. [available from first author]

  • Vlosky, R. P., Chance, P., Monroe, P. A., Hughes, D., & Blalock, L. B. (1998b) “An integrated market-based model for value-added solid wood products sector economic development.” Forest Products Journal, 48, 11-12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright, P. M. (1992). An examination of the relationships among monetary incentives, goal level, goal commitment, and performance. Journal of Management, 18(4), 677-693.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Monroe, P.A., Blalock, L.B. & Vlosky, R.P. Work Opportunities in a Non-Traditional Setting for Women Exiting Welfare: A Case Study. Journal of Family and Economic Issues 20, 35–60 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022115813706

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022115813706

Navigation