Regulating the Lives of Women

""I cut my teeth on the first edition of this pathbreaking feminist tome, and can unreservedly say that the world needs this meticulously researched, cutting-edge 4th edition now more than ever. There’s no one who can state the case better than Abramowitz for gender and race equity, and an end to poverty."" - Donna Baines, Professor in the School of Social Work, University of British Columbia, Canada ""The timing of the 4th edition of this brilliant book could not be better! With major revisions to roughly half the book, Abramowitz has retained a feminist framework, but more closely examines both the history and the negative effect of recent Neoliberal policies on the lives of women."" - Susan P. Robbins, Cele S. and Samuel D. Keeper Endowed Professor in Social Justice, University of Houston, USA ""With scholarly precision and feminist activist lens, Mimi Abramovitz continues to shine a light on how women's lives are controlled by patriarchal and racialized social welfare arrangements, historically and contemporarily. With incisive analysis and determined feminist activism, Mimi Abramovitz's carefully crafted work shows that when women organise, they remain a powerful force fighting for gender quality and inclusive democracy for all. Essential reading for scholars of contemporary feminist social policy analysis."" - Carolyn Noble, Founding Professor of Social Work and Head of School of Social Work at Australian College of Applied Psychology and co-editor of The Routledge International Handbook of Feminisms in Social Work (2024) Praise for the Third Edition ""Regulating the Lives of Women is an essential resource. A classic account of how gendered social policies shape poor women’s options, this new edition is especially important given the end of welfare and growing challenges to women’s well-being."" - Alice Kessler-Harris, author of In Pursuit of Equity and R. Gordon Hoxie Professor of American History, Columbia University, USA ""Regulating the Lives of Women, a nuanced history of American social welfare policy through a feminist lens, reveals how gendered and racialized division of labor and the racialized institutions frame social policy and the lives of all women. Defining the welfare state as an arena of political struggle, the book is a must for students, researchers, progressive policy makers and activists who will find it both insightful and, better yet, useful.""- John Ehrenreich, author of Third Wave Capitalism and Professor of Psychology at SUNY Old Westbury, USA ""Well-researched, coherent, and powerful, the book is today’s must-read. Appeals to both younger and older generations who are upset about the assault on women’s rights and interested in the historical roots of today's public policies."" - Michael Reisch, Daniel Thursz Distinguished Professor of Social Justice, University of Maryland, USA""Regulating the Lives of Women captures the soul of activism and pushes intellectual boundaries with rigor. Having used this book in classes in Harlem, the rural Mountain West, and the Ivy-League, I saw it transform these very different students from dispassionate policy observers to eager and critical thinkers of the gendered welfare state."" - Amy Castro Baker, Associate Professor, School of Social Policy and Practice, University of Pennsylvania, USA