Poor Mothers and Lonely Single Males: The ‘Essentially’ Excluded Women and Men of Australia

Roger Patulny, Melissa Wong

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

It is unclear how much gendered social exclusion and disconnection reflects a problem or a preference. Women may prefer market-disengagement despite the risk of exclusion from 'normal' social activities through financial incapacity, and men may prefer market-engagement despite the risk of disconnection from informal social networks. This article examines these issues amongst Australian men and women. It finds women, particularly single and low-income mothers, are more socially excluded, and men, particularly single middle-aged men, are the most socially disconnected, after preferences. Future policy should be cognisant of contact preferences, intra-household support dynamics, long work hours and prevailing gender norms.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)221-239
Number of pages19
JournalSocial Policy and Society
Volume12
Issue number2
Early online date21 Sept 2012
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2013

User-Defined Keywords

  • Social exclusion
  • social disconnection
  • gender
  • necessity
  • income
  • marital status
  • ageing

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