Single mother and working poverty relationship as a social risk groups: A qualitative study

In this study, the working poverty experienced by single mothers working within the scope of Community Benefit Work Program (CBWP), which is one of the workfare practices, is examined. The poverty experienced by single mothers who work temporarily as cleaning and security personnel within the scope of CBWP in Zonguldak province and strategies to fight this poverty are emphasized. The aim of this thesis is to reveal the socio-economic and socio-demographic structures of single mothers who are employed by the public in temporary status, the problems they face in their working life, their subsistence strategies, eating habits, perspective on poverty and the problems they experience in the family. This study also examines the reasons for single mothers to work in CBWP status, the problems they encounter in working life and the strategies they have developed to cope with them. In the study, qualitative research design was adopted as the method and in-depth interviews were conducted with 26 single mothers. The interviews were analyzed with the MAXQDA 2020 and 2022 programs. As a result of the study, it has been determined that single mothers are exposed to gender and age discrimination in entering and working life and they have to work in temporary, low-qualified, low-paid, and insecure jobs with long working hours. In order to cope with this situation, single mothers tended to work temporarily within the scope of the CBWP created by the public instead of working in the private sector. Thus, it has been found that they feel safe for a short time by working in a job with regular working hours, minimum wage and insured but at the same time, they experience anxiety for future because they work temporarily. In addition, it was seen that working in the CBWP could not save them from poverty, but only provided support in reducing the depth of poverty for a short time. Working in the CBWP does not provide single mothers with qualifications. In addition, it is noteworthy that the CBWP has moved away from its purpose of emergence. It is an important finding that single mothers are in a continuous cycle in their working life in the unemployment-social assistance-temporary employment triad. Single mothers develop livelihood strategies such as food, childcare, root family support and social benefits to fight with working poverty. It is one of the main findings that single mothers subject their expenses to strict budget constraints in order to make a living, make restrictions on food the most, keep their social life to a minimum, and have the most difficulty in the expenses of their children. It has been determined that a significant portion of single mothers continues their education and invests in their human capital.