TORONTO, October 16, 2002 -- York University's Association for Research on Mothering (ARM) is hosting a conference, Mothering, Law, Politics and Public Policy, examining policies which affect mothers and their children, and the influence that they have in determining policy outcomes, Friday, Oct. 18 to Sunday, Oct. 20.
Topics include: child custody and support; maternity and parental leave; workplace benefits; privatization of caregiving; national childcare; taxation; reproductive technologies and childbirth practices; and the needs of mothers more likely to be marginalized such as lesbians, aboriginal mothers and mothers coping with disabilities.
"The place of mothers in contemporary society is significantly affected by various forms of legal and political regulation," says conference organizer and ARM director Prof. Andrea O'Reilly. "This conference will pay close attention to the various ways differences of race, ethnicity, sexuality, ability, class and age structure mothers' experiences with regard to public policy and jurisprudence."
Conference presenters include:
Dr. Carolyn Bennett, MP (L- St. Paul's) "Toronto Mothers in Politics" -- a discussion on juggling motherhood and federal politics, as well as health care issues and income tax rules affecting families with children. Bennett is a member of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance (including the sub-committee on tax equity for families with dependent children) and chair of the Sub-Committee on Status of Persons with Disabilities.
Jeannette Corbiere Lavell "Aboriginal Mothers, Law and Public Policy: Issues and Challenges Across a Generation" -- a discussion on how the changes to the legal status of Aboriginal women under the Indian Act of Canada, spurred by Lavell's 1973 Supreme Court challenge (which readmitted native women who married non-native men and their children as Status Indians), have affected Aboriginal mothers and children.
Prof. Lorna Turnbull (University of Manitoba) "Mothers in Law" -- a discussion of her book Double Jeopardy: Motherwork and the Law (2001) which highlights laws, policies and politics that define mothers as good or bad, the undervaluing of motherwork, and the inequality of mothers in income tax policy and the child welfare system.
The conference will take place in York University's Vari Hall, located at 4700 Keele Street. For the conference agenda, including a complete list of conference presenters and papers, visit: www.yorku.ca/crm.
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For further information, please contact:
| Prof. Andrea O'Reilly Director, ARM York University 416-736-2100, ext. 60366 aoreilly@yorku.ca |
Cheryl Dobinson Administrative Coordinator, ARM York University 416-736-2100, ext. 60366 cjdobins@yorku.ca |
Ken Turriff Media Relations York University 416-736-2100, ext. 22086 kturriff@yorku.ca |
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