Their normative depiction of fiscal redistribution fails to account for ongoing gendered discrepancies – leads to serial policy failure.

A second important function of the state is to ensure that existing resources are redistributed in society. The issue is complex, since there are no clear answers as to what constitutes precisely the optimal level of redistribution. Should everyone have access to the same quantity of resources, or should some resources be allocated to some specific groups and individuals? If so, who should be targeted? Why? How? In sum, the redistribution of resources rests on normative considerations about equality and differences among citizens. Modern societies have provided some answers to these questions with the establishment of the welfare state. Although some early initiatives appeared at the end of the nineteenth century, the welfare state as we know it today was implemented during the twentieth century, especially after the Second World War in the case of Canada. Broadly speaking, the welfare state can be defined as fulfilling a social-solidarity function, by providing some basic social rights (e.g., access to free healthcare services and universal education), and offering minimal economic security to all (through pensions, social assistance, employment insurance, etc.). Nowadays, public policies associated with the welfare state makes up most of the modern state activities. As Fig. 23.1 indicates, more than 60 per cent of all Canadian public spending is dedicated to funding of healthcare, education, and social services, the three sectors commonly associated with the welfare state. Fig. 23.1 figure 1 The Canadian welfare state. (Source: author’s computations with data compiled by Statistics Canada. Canadian Classification of Functions of Government (CCOFOG) by Consolidated Government Component. CANSIM database, Table 10-10-0005-01; accessed, March 15, 2019) Full size image Public Expenditures At first sight, public services provided by the welfare state do not appear to target women and men differently: all people, regardless of gender, are entitled to receive public services, such as healthcare services, education, and professional training. The same is true for sexual minorities: individuals cannot be denied a public service (e.g., healthcare) because of non-heterosexual desires and practices or because they self-identify as genderqueer or gender non-conforming. There are some obvious exceptions, such as programmes designed for maternity leave or to provide specific medical care (e.g., gender-affirming surgery), but these instances are infrequent. In practice, however, the welfare state is far from being as gender neutral as is often claimed. Its policies are based on some preconceived ideas that advantage some and disadvantage others. One factor that many feminist scholars have identified as a cause of this inequality is the inability (or unwillingness) of the welfare state to consider the contribution of unpaid work and care activities (Sainsbury 2013). Social-assistance programmes provide a good illustration of this situation. In Canada, most of these programmes implicitly assume the superiority of private markets to generate personal income. Therefore, social-assistance programmes seek to provide minimal basic income to those unable to enter the labour market and earn an income. The data presented in Table 23.3 show the major sources of incomes of women and men for various age groups in Canada. As we can see, the earnings of women lag those of men at all stages of life. This inequality is created primarily by private-market mechanisms (labour, investment, and private retirement income). Although this imbalance is alleviated by government transfers, it does not disappear. In reality, government transfers marginally correct the income difference. For instance, government transfers reduce the income gap between women and men aged twenty-five to sixty-four years by about only one-tenth.Footnote4 The situation is even more puzzling for elderly women: on average, men receive more government transfers than women, even though their market income is higher. Table 23.3 Major sources of income, per capita, by age group and gender, 2017 Full size table Gender differences are also noticeable for specific categories of government transfers. For instance, women rely more on public pensions than men do.Footnote5 Furthermore, women receive more support from pension programmes that specifically target low-income Canadians, such as the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) and the Spouse’s Allowance (SPA). Meanwhile, women are the primary beneficiaries of child benefits. It must be noted that the federal child-benefit programme does discriminate on the basis of gender, as women are explicitly identified as the usual beneficiary. On average, women aged between twenty-five and sixty-four years receive $2400 per year in child benefits.Footnote6 This amount is higher for women with low income, especially for single parents (additional help is provided with social-assistance programmes). Although significant, these amounts do not cover all the costs related to raising children, especially when both parents are in the labour market. For instance, a recent study has shown that the median cost of childcare services was between $6500 and $8000 per year per child in various parts of CanadaFootnote7 (Maire 2014).