title: Moral codes of mothering and the introduction of welfare-to-work in Ontario.
abstract: In this paper, I trace how the reform of social assistance in Ontario, especially the post-1990s enforcement of lone mothers' employability via welfare-to-work programs, parallels shifts in dominant moral codes of mothering, from "mother-carer" to "mother-worker." Additionally, I use this case as an entry point to consider the implications of public and policy allegiance to these moral codes for all mothers. The central argument I make is that the introduction of welfare-to-work programs in Ontario did not occur in a neoliberal state-sanctioned vacuum but also involved the circulation of ideas about moral mothering outside of policy into policy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Founders College, Room 134, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON, Canada M3J 1P3. agazso@yorku.ca
authors.forename: Amber
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gazso
mesh_terms: D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D028681:Moral Obligations; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D009864:Ontario; D011632:Public Assistance / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011640:Public Policy; D015406:Single Parent / Q000523:psychology*; D014931:Women, Working / Q000523:psychology*