FROM WOOING SOCCER MOMS TO DEMONIZING WELFARE MOTHERS: A LEGISLATIVE AND POLICY CONTEXT FOR WOMEN'S TRAVEL

One of the truly amazing stories of the last otherwise low key Presidential election season was the discovery and exploitation of a "new" demographic group-the so-called "soccer mom." Pollsters, spinsters, pundits and columnists have all rushed to chronicle the existence of these middle to upper income women, who spend their suburban days and suburban nights shuttling in their Volvos or minivans between school, shopping trip and soccer game, often with a job sandwiched in between. The selection of New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman as the keynote speaker at the Republican Convention was widely seen as candidate Bob Dole's attempt to reach out to this new target group, in a clear vindication of the findings of the first conference on Women's Travel Issues nearly twenty years ago. Of course the rush to reach out to the "soccer moms" by candidates of both political parties has not included serious discussion of the transportation and land use trends that have created their daily plight, or of the strategies available to government to deal with their problems. Instead the candidates focus on issues like education, abortion and values, and spin their messages to appeal to the supposed bent of this group. At the same time other political issues which could have significant impacts on women's travel and quality life are discussed without reference to their implications for women, including welfare reform, school choice and affirmative action. The one legislative initiative which has provided real tools to respond to women's travel needs-the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act, up for reauthorization next year-is seen as a construction bill or jobs bill. What are recent key legislative initiatives and how have they affected women's travel? What legislative issues are on the horizon and how will they be reflected in the demand for travel and in the satisfaction of that demand? And, finally, how can research and policy analysis help to better define these issues so that legislation and spending can be targeted to dealing with the real problems of the so-called "soccer moms" and "welfare mothers", along with everybody for whom a category has not yet been invented?

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.21949/1404185
• 
• Record URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/13064
• Corporate Authors:

  University of Arizona, Tucson

  Drachman Institute, 819 E First Street
  Tucson, AZ  United States  85721

  Morgan State University

  1700 East Cold Spring Lane
  Baltimore, MD  United States  21251

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Dittmar, H
• Conference:
  • Women's Travel Issues Second National Conference
  • Location: Baltimore, Maryland
  • Date: 1996-10-0 to 1996-10-0
• Publication Date: 1998-7-30

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: 7p
• Monograph Title: WOMEN'S TRAVEL ISSUES: PROCEEDINGS FROM THE SECOND NATIONAL CONFERENCE

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Children; Driving; Expenditures; Females; Land use; Legislation; Policy; Quality of life; Schools; Shopping; Strategic planning; Suburbs; Travel; Travel demand; Vans
• Uncontrolled Terms: Soccer moms; Welfare mothers
• Subject Areas: Education and Training; Highways; Law; Planning and Forecasting; Policy; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00927515
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Jul 5 2002 12:00AM