Disabled women and public policies for income support

Among the complex network of government programs that offer income support in the United States is a set that provides benefits to disabled persons. In general, disabled women receive less from these public income support programs than do disabled men, despite their often greater economic need. Part of this difference can be attributed to the poor fit between women's work patterns and the structure of these programs, and part of the problem lies in the assumptions about men's and women's economic and family roles that form the foundation of U.S. public income transfer programs. Finally, differences between the ways impaired women and men view themselves and are viewed by society may account for some of the gender differences in the receipt of transfer program benefits.