SOAN 225 | Gender and Poverty | | | Roy Roosevelt Fattouh | 10/4/2014 |

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More than one billion in the world today, the great majority of whom are women, live in unacceptable conditions of poverty, mostly in the developing countries. Women represent 70 percent of the world's poor. They comprise more than 50 percent of the world's population but own only one percent of the world's wealth. Their lives are a litany of injustice, discrimination and obstacles that get in the way of achieving their basic needs of good health, safe childbirth, education, and employment. The sequence of discrimination that a woman may suffer during her entire life is unacceptable but all too common.
Low income is the major cause that places women at high risk of poverty, and lone mothers are usually at the highest risk for extreme poverty because their income is insufficient to rear children. As the number of unmarried women increases, the diverse causes affecting their poverty must be examined. Poverty is multidimensional, and therefore, economic and socio-cultural factors overlap and contribute to the establishment of poverty. It is a phenomenon with multiple root causes and manifestations.
Lack of income is a principal reason for women's risk of poverty as it deprives women of their basic needs and capabilities. As women disproportionately earn less income than men, they are deprived of basic education and health care. This deprivation passes on from one generation of women to the next, which leads to a perpetual feminization of poverty. The main reason behind this cycle of poverty is the lower earnings of women. According to a recent study, twelve of the twenty most common occupations for women, compared to eight of the twenty most common occupations for men, have median weekly earnings that will leave a household of four at or near poverty. (Staff infoZine, 2014)
Also, lack of income and resources place the lone mother households, households in which there are female headships and no male headships at the highest risk of poverty for women. There is a continuing increase of lone mother households in the world, which results in higher percentages of women in poverty. Lone mothers are the poorest women in society, and their children tend to be disadvantaged in comparison to their peers. Female headed households are most susceptible to poverty because they have fewer income earners to provide financial support within the household. According to a study in Zimbabwe, households headed by widows have an income of approximately half that of male-headed households.
It is true that lack of income is an important factor in analyzing women poverty, however, it is critical to analyze the feminization of poverty from different perspectives such as health, childbirth, education, and employment. (Branham & Olinger, 2013)
Women in poverty have reduced access to health care services and resources. Gender inequality in society prevents women from utilizing care services and therefore puts them at risk of poor health.
Women, as adolescents, may be required to have an early marriage and pregnancy at a young age puts girls at risk of maternal deaths. Also, at child-bearing age, women could die from hemorrhaging during childbirth, which is one of the most causes of maternal mortality for anemic or undernourished pregnant women. In developing countries, a girl or a woman dies every minute in giving birth.
The education of women and children, especially girls, can create greater opportunities for women to lift themselves out of poverty and increase their social position. Countries with strong gender discrimination and social hierarchies limit women's access to basic education. Even within the households, girls education is often sacrificed to allow male siblings to attend school.
Employment opportunities are limited for women worldwide. Although, there has been major growth in women's employment, the quality of the jobs still remains deeply unequal. Women do not have the same job opportunities and receive less pay for the same work. On average, they earn half of the men's earnings.
A case study on women in the United Kingdom shows that they are deprived of employment opportunities and income, which places them at the highest risk of poverty in the country. Nearly half of the employees in the study were women but these women counted for less than a third of the total weekly earnings. Although more women began to actively participate in providing for their families, over half of people in poverty were female and over forty percent of impoverished households were lone-mother households. (Davies & Joshi, 1998)

Women poverty is an issue of social concern because it has a major effect on society and on women. Where there is a high rate of poverty, there is usually a high rate of violence against women. In Bangladesh for example, women from powerful and affluent families are protected from domestic violence more than poor women are. Reports show that up to 31% of all deaths of women are caused by acts of violence. (Quinn, 2010)
In the US, poor women are prone to be addicted to drugs and alcohol. One study reported that 96.6% of the women in that study had children, of which 73.8% reported to using drugs regularly. These women reported that drug use did not create poverty in their lives, but that poverty contributed to their use of drug.
Also, a portion of poor women who have been traumatized and abused, and who have poor skills at coping might have periods in their lives where they became homeless and were forced to live in shelters.
In addition to all these problems, food insufficiency and hunger are ongoing in poor households. This stress of not being able to obtain enough food for their families jeopardized women's physical and psychological health. These women experienced deep feelings of helplessness which lead to stress, clinical depression and even physical disease.
The fact that poverty affects mostly women has its side-effects. Women poverty brings with it child poverty. Children are poor because their parents are poor. Many infants born into poverty have a low birth weight, which is associated with many preventable mental and physical disabilities. Not only are these poor infants more likely to be irritable or sickly, they are also more likely to die before their first birthday. (Morris)
There is also a clear link between low income and poor health. Poverty increases reliance on health services, which in turn leads to high health care and income security costs.
If income is insufficient, poor people might turn to crime to supplement their income. A study has shown that most frequent criminal offenders came from the poorest families with the worst housing, and that most female offenders were women with low levels of education, few job skills, no economic resources, living alone in extremely poor conditions, and unable to support themselves.

To conclude, we notice that women represent disproportionate percentages of the world's poor. This is not only due to the consequence of lack of income, but it is also the result of deprivation of capabilities and gender biases present in both societies and governments. Suggestions to solutions to this problem exist but are not fully applied such as establishing a minimum wage that reflects the actual cost of living. Also, ensuring access to job training without heavy financial burdens. Decent, affordable housing should be provided through rehabilitation and new construction. Women should have ensured access to social services, including health care and child care. There should also be tax relief for the poor, not for the rich and many more solutions that might fix the problem partially.
Finally, equality between men and women is more than a matter of justice; it's a fundamental human right. Women with equal rights are better educated, healthier, and have greater access to financial resources, which in turn raises household income. Through this approach, women across the world can be helped to move out of poverty, and along the way, each woman will contribute to the economy and create a more secure future for herself and for her children.

References
Staff infoZine. (2014, April 08). Is the gender gap keeping millions of women in poverty?. Retrieved from http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/58577/
Branham, L., & Olinger, J. (2013, May 02). Introduction to the challenges for achieving gender equality. Retrieved from http://www.globalcitizen.org/Content/Content.aspx?id=058f8fee-01f4-4508-a54d-464ff22a4716
Davies, H., & Joshi, H. (1998). Gender and income inequality in the uk 1968-1990: The feminization of earnings or of poverty?. Journal of the Royal Society. Series A (Statistics in Society), 161(1), 33-61. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.aub.edu.lb/stable/2983553
Quinn, M. K. (2010, May 15). Poverty and women: Consequences and solutions. Retrieved from http://voices.yahoo.com/poverty-women-consequences-solutions-6009072.html
Morris, M. (n.d.). Women and poverty. Retrieved from http://criaw-icref.ca/WomenAndPoverty

Appendix
Introduction to the challenges for achieving gender equality

The problem: Women make up half of the world's population and yet represent a staggering 70% of the world's poor. For the millions of women living in poverty, their lives are a litany of injustice, discrimination and obstacles that get in the way of achieving their basic needs of good health, safe childbirth, education and employment. Overcoming these inequalities and ensuring that women benefit from development requires that the needs and desires of women are not only taken into account, but be put front and centre. We live in a world in which women living in poverty face gross inequalities and injustice from birth to death. From poor education to poor nutrition to vulnerable and low pay employment, the sequence of discrimination that a woman may suffer during her entire life is unacceptable but all too common. What does this look like throughout a woman's life? As a baby born into poverty, she might be abandoned and left to die, through the practice of female infanticide. Worldwide, there are 32 million 'missing women'. During her childhood, her proper feeding and nutrition may be neglected out of family favouring of male children. As a girl or woman she may be a victim of female genital mutilation and cutting. 100 to 140 million girls and women around the world have undergone genital mutilation, including 6.5 million in Western countries. Embedded in cultural norms, this act is often carried out with the consent of mothers, in conditions that lead to lifelong pain, infection and premature death. As an adolescent she may be required to have an early marriage and young pregnancy puts girls at risk of maternal deaths. The education of girls has been shown enhance maternal and child nutrition and lower mortality rates, inhibit the spread of fatal diseases like HIV/AIDS, and reduce birth rates. Unfortunately, in many parts of the world, girls do not attend school because of reasons as simple as lack of decent sanitation facilities or the need to spend hours each day collecting water At child-bearing age, she could die from haemorrhaging during childbirth, one of the most common causes of maternal mortality for anaemic or undernourished pregnant women. Of the 500,000 women who die in childbirth every year, 99% live in developing countries. In other words, in developing countries, a girl or a woman dies every minute in giving birth. At working age, she does not have the same job opportunities and receives less pay for the same work. Women work two-thirds of the world's working hours, produce half of the world's food, but earn only 10% of the world's income and own less than one percent of the world's property. On average, women earn half of what men earn. Informal employment is a greater source of employment for women than for men. While it can offer life-changing opportunities to earn money, the low pay and lack of social protection makes women vulnerable and open to exploitation. Over her lifetime, she may suffer unimaginable violence and neglect, often in silence. Three million women die each year because of gender-based violence, and four million girls and women a year are sold into prostitution. One woman in five is a victim of rape or attempted rape during her lifetime. Gender-based violence takes more of a toll on women's health than that of traffic accidents and malaria combined.

Is the Gender Gap Keeping Millions of Women in Poverty?

Tuesday, April 08, 2014 :: Staff infoZine
The Gender Wage Gap by Occupation and by Race and Ethnicity, 2013

Washington DC - infoZine - Heidi Hartmann is president of the Institute for Women's Policy Research, which just released the report "The Gender Wage Gap by Occupation 2013 and by Race and Ethnicity." Hegewisch is study director for the group.

Among the group's findings: "Twelve of the 20 most common occupations for women, compared with eight of the 20 most common occupations for men, have median weekly earnings that will leave a household of four at or near poverty. (The annual poverty threshold for a household of four in 2013 translated into weekly income of $453.) Forty percent of Hispanic women work in service and other occupations with poverty wages, as well as 32 percent of black women and 14 percent of white women.
The report also found: "Male-dominated occupations tend to pay more than female-dominated occupations at similar skill levels, particularly in jobs that require higher educational levels. For example, among high-skilled workers, males in ‘software developers, applications and systems software’ occupations, a male-dominated field, earn $1,737 per week on average (compared with $1,370 for women), while female workers in the ‘registered nurses’ occupation, a female-dominated field, earn $1,086 (compared with $1,236 for men). Thus, tackling occupational segregation is an important part of eliminating the gender wage gap."

Hegewisch said today: “Once again, sales occupations, which have great disparities in commissions, are the ones with the highest wage gap. This is not about choice, but about inequality in access to the jobs with the highest earnings, and lack of transparency in who gets paid what.”

Hartmann added: "As the country wrestles with policies that ensure better wages and improved economic security for workers, it is important to consider remaining barriers to entry to higher-paid occupations, the over representation of women in low-paid occupations, and how we value different types of work."