Two members of the Welfare Conditionality Project research team are presenting at the Social Policy Association conference in Belfast this week.

‘Lone parent or brunt-bearer?’ is the title of Dr Sharon Wright’s presentation to a special symposium at the conference on Women, Work and Welfare Reform. Based on a paper by herself and Professor Sarah Johnsen, the presentation charts the development of welfare reforms that have changed the balance of sanctions and support for lone parents.

In practice, they argue, welfare reform is deeply gendered because men and women are situated differently in relation to the demands and rewards of paid work and unpaid care. Read Sarah’s blog on lone parents here.

Following up will be Dr Jenny McNeill who presents on: ‘Gamers or victims of the system? Welfare reform, hyper vulnerability and cynical manipulation’.

Read more about our research here, and catch up with our briefing papers and other publications to date here.