Rebecca S. Powers

Occupational Aspirations, Gender, and Educational Attainment

While in the past women had lower educational attainment than men, women in recent years have caught up to and passed men in educational attainment. Lower occupational aspirations for women compared to men contributed to lower educational attainment in the past. In this article, we use data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to consider whether occupational aspirations still act to lower educational attainment for women compared to men or whether occupational aspirations are currently an advantage for young women. We find that occupational aspirations are an advantage for women for high school graduation but not for college graduation.

The Complex Lives of Disconnected Welfare Leavers: Examining Employment Barriers, Social Support and Informal Employment

With no federal entitlement to cash assistance, some unemployed welfare leavers have no obvious means of support. This article compares former Louisianas Strategies to Empower People (STEP) participants who are disconnected from employment and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) to those who are connected. Logistic regressions show that disconnected welfare leavers are more likely to have transportation problems, live rent free, and engage in informal employment. They are less likely to report a health problem or have a child with poor health, share living expenses, or receive cash help from family and friends. Contributions to the literature and policy initiatives are discussed.

Predicting Material Hardship Among Former Welfare-to-Work Participants: An Income- and Resource-Packaging Model

ABSTRACT Material hardship is of concern because it refers to physical deprivation related to meeting the basic needs of food, housing, utilities, and other items. This study tests a predictive income- and resource-packaging model of material hardship using survey data collected from 459 former welfare-to-work program participants. Logistic regression results show that receiving social support in the form of living rent-free decreased the odds for experiencing material hardship. The predictors of working in the informal economy, being sanctioned while on public assistance, having mental health issues, and having transportation problems all increased the odds for experiencing material hardship. The measures of formal employment income, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families income, work-first program participation, sharing living expenses, monetary social support, and assistance from nonprofit organizations were unrelated to predicting material hardship experiences. Policymakers interested in improving conditions for needy families should question the use of sanctions and carefully monitor material hardship among those sanctioned. Future programs and future research should consider the extent to which low-income women participate in the informal economy to make ends meet, rely on social networks to live rent-free, and struggle with poor health and transportation problems.