New Books Network Mimi Abramovitz, "Regulating the Lives of Women: Social Welfare Policy from Colonial Times to the Present" (Routledge, 2025)
Nov 4, 2025
Mimi Abramovitz, a renowned scholar of social welfare policy, dives into her book focusing on the gendered and racialized dynamics of the welfare state. She explores how welfare programs have historically regulated women's behavior while providing essential support. The discussion highlights the intersectionality of race and gender, revealing how policies have disadvantaged Black women. Abramovitz also examines the impact of neoliberal rollbacks and the Trump administration on welfare, emphasizing the potential for income security to empower marginalized communities.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
From Welfare Worker To Scholar
- Mimi Abramovitz began her career as a welfare worker in Connecticut and then entered activism and academia.
- Her front-line experience shaped the book's central question about how the welfare state affects women's lives.
Welfare State: Purpose And Historical Arc
- The welfare state is a set of government programs designed to protect people during economic hardship, but practices are more complicated.
- The modern U.S. welfare state expanded after the Great Depression and then began retrenching from the 1980s onward.
Three Core Cash Programs Defined
- Abramovitz highlights three core U.S. cash programs: Social Security, Unemployment Insurance, and Public Assistance (TANF).
- She warns that opponents blurred 'welfare' to mean all programs, easing cuts to popular benefits.
