Women against poverty: Community workers in anti-poverty programs, 1964-1984.
Item
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Title
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Women against poverty: Community workers in anti-poverty programs, 1964-1984.
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Identifier
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AAI8820882
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identifier
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8820882
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Creator
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Naples, Nancy A.
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Contributor
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Adviser: William Kornblum
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Date
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1988
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Sociology, Public and Social Welfare
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Abstract
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This dissertation examines the community-based work of women from low-income neighborhoods who became employed through the Anti-Poverty Programs established by the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. Fifty-three, predominantly black and Hispanic, women who worked in community action agencies (CAAs) in New York City and Philadelphia were interviewed in depth. Forty-two of these women were indigenous to the communities in which they worked.;The study draws upon the sociological theories of work and occupations, the sociology of community, political sociology, and feminist theory to understand the experience of indigenous community workers. Several avenues of inquiry were explored: (1) socialization; (2) community work as "women's work"; (3) the effect of pay on indigenous women's community work; (4) community work and political participation; (5) empowerment and radicalization; (6) the importance of community for low income women; (7) the role of the state in social reform. The central finding is that women's community work can best be understood in terms of their experience of "community." The contradictory and socially marginal position of indigenous community workers contributes to their special understanding of the significance of community for low income people.;An analysis of the commitment to community work that utilizes the conventional categories found in the sociology of work and occupations would suggest the indigenous women were acting irrationally. However, once we accept the importance of the nonmaterial rewards they receive from their work, we revise the traditional definition of "work" and "job satisfaction." A diversity of explanations responsive to the race, class, and gender of the social actors goes beyond the theory that motivation for work and political participation is reflective simply of self-interest.;The analysis of indigenous women's community work also challenges the assumption that low income women offer little resistance to the impoverishment of their communities. While few of the women interviewed for this study were active in political parties, all enthusiastically participated in community organizations and coalitions that addressed the needs of their low income and minority communities. They also offered a political analysis of American society and worked through the institutions of their communities to improve the lives of their neighbors.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
