Mary Jo Katras

Hispanic Self-Employment: Does Gender Matter?.

With the increase in female self-employment, there is a need to examine the intersection between race/ethnicity and gender. This study examined whether gender differences in income exist for self-employed Hispanics residing in California using data from the 1990 U.S. decennial census. Theories stressing human capital, social capital, and acculturation were combined and income equations were estimated separately for Hispanic self-employed men and Hispanic self-employed women. The sample consisted of 7,760 Hispanic self-employed persons (64% self-employed men versus 36% self-employed women). Multiple regression analysis suggests income differences in self-employment do exist by gender. For example, having less than a high school education relative to being a high school graduate decreased self-employment income for both men and women, but the effect was larger for men. Furthermore, decomposition analysis suggests income differences between genders are due both to differences in worker characteristics and rates of return to these characteristics.

Getting Off TANF: Experiences of Rural Mothers

This 3-year study followed 16 rural mothers who left Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. A family economic functioning framework was used to identify pathways and barriers to financial self-sufficiency. At a designated point, most mothers had incomes below 130% of poverty level, inadequate to support families financially. This was found to be a result of barriers such as low levels of education, limited employment choices, and transportation problems. Those with higher incomes had access to education or training programs and reliable transportation. For many of the mothers, extended family support was critical for getting off TANF. This framework provides social workers with a tool to determine the best points of intervention to reduce barriers and enhance pathways to success.

Children's Birthday Celebrations From the Lived Experiences of Low-Income Rural Mothers:

This exploratory study investigates how low-income rural families celebrate childrens birthdays, using interview data from 128 mothers residing in five states. Findings from a qualitative content analysis show that the mothers make special efforts to have birthday celebrations as other families do despite their financial constraints. Making the birthday child feel happy and “normal” is the central goal of the birthday celebrations. Many of the mothers desire big parties and expensive gifts, which are socially expected characteristics of birthday celebrations. These mothers adopt various strategies to acquire, create, and allocate resources they need, including reducing expenditures, planning, changing priorities, pooling resources, and receiving assistance from their social networks. However, some mothers cannot celebrate birthdays the way they want because of financial constraints and may feel unsatisfied with their celebrations.

Having Their Say: Rural Mothers Talk about Welfare

Abstract The publics perception of persons who rely on public assistance is generally negative. The surprising element is that mothers who are themselves reliant on welfare also hold these negative attitudes. This paper explored the attitudes toward and experiences with welfare of rural low income mothers using data from the Rural Families Speak longitudinal, multi-state project. Consistent with prior research, the majority of rural mothers spoke disparagingly of those relying on “welfare.” They saw themselves in a different light because they were in need and they used “public assistance” to help their families survive. The rural mothers also spoke of incidents in which they and their family members had experienced discrimination due to their use of welfare benefits.

Making Rural Employment Work

This chapter sets the stage for examining the employment issues of low-income rural families. Literature reveals that rural low-income residents have a strong work ethic, contradicting the general belief that low-income individuals do not want to work. Welfare reform is discussed relative to employment and lack of rural provisions. Theoretical frameworks are used to help examine the many layered pathways to employment. The voices of the Rural Families Speak (RFS) mothers are used to illustrate how they make it work, focusing on mothers’ employment patterns, options, constraints, and challenges. Future research on employment patterns for all family members is suggested to understand rural families and work.