Changing frames: the discursive influence of the women's movements of New Zealand and Australia

Abstract

This thesis examines the discursive influence of women’s movement activity in New Zealand and Australia from 1970 to 2000. The aim is to further understanding about how and when social movements influence cultural norms and reframe public policy. While there exists extensive sociological research into the conditions under which social movements emerge in societies, there is little empirical research into the effect of these phenomena. Similarly, the influence of social movements is under-researched within political science literature, where the focus has been on the impact of formal actors such as political parties and interest groups. Textual analysis is applied to public debate around the issues of childcare and unpaid work in Australia and New Zealand over a 30-year period. The four in-depth case studies identify the number and prevalence of discourses used in policy debates and the coalitions that defend these differing narratives. The analysis of discourses and coalition shows that women’s movement activity brought changes to policy discourse in New Zealand and Australia. This influence, however, was often only partial. ‘Radical’ messages put forward by social movements hindered their discursive influence in the political realm and the attempts of the Australasian women’s movements to alter policy debates were negatively affected by the introduction of neo-liberal narratives. Also limiting the impact of movement activity were the discursive legacies found in each of the policy debates, the type of alliances built by grass-roots activists, and the power of entrenched political elites. The analysis shows that messages challenging the status quo will alter the way policy is discussed in society, but at the same time processes of political debate will modify the messages advanced by social movements.