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Institutional processes and the production of gender inequalities: the case of Australian child support research and administration

journal contribution
posted on 2015-11-01, 00:00 authored by K Cook, Hayley MckenzieHayley Mckenzie, K Natalier, L Young
This article analyses the administrative and research capture of child support data as a case study of how institutional data collection processes are performative in perpetuating gendered inequalities. We compare interviews with 19 low-income single mothers and their longitudinal survey responses from the same research to reveal how low-income women strategically or inadvertently ‘smoothed’ their experiences when responding to data collection processes. This directly resulted in material and symbolic costs in the form of reduced welfare benefits and limited evidence with which to lobby for policy reform. These processes in turn provided benefits to fathers and the state in the form of reduced child support liabilities and enforcement action, and welfare outlays, respectively. We conclude that current administrative and research data collection practices provide a limited and gendered evidence base for administrative justice and policy reform.

History

Journal

Critical social policy

Volume

35

Issue

4

Pagination

512 - 534

Publisher

Sage

Location

London, Eng.

ISSN

0261-0183

eISSN

1461-703X

Language

eng

Publication classification

C Journal article; C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2015, Sage

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