Access to a Basic Income: Exploring a Matricentric Feminist Approach to Poverty Alleviation for Mothers in Ontario

Abstract

While the literature on the nexus of poverty and motherhood is substantial, there is a dearth of scholarship exploring the intersection of basic income, poverty, and mothering. This article explores a matricentric feminist approach to poverty alleviation by means of access to a basic income. Such an approach recognizes that women, and mothers specifically, tend to be disadvantaged under current patriarchal, social and economic relations. Within this article, we consider the implications of basic income for mothers by exploring the merits and limitations of this approach to income security in several different domains. As such, we explore the impacts of basic income on mothers in relation to safe and affordable housing, quality childcare, and the overall health and wellbeing of mothers and their children.