Women and the poverty trap

Lone parents today are the poorest group in society; two thirds of children in one-parent families are poor, compared with one quarter of children with two resident parents. The fact that the majority of lone parents are women is key to understanding why so many one-parent families are poor. Single mothers face the same issue that all working women face - the pay gap. The problem is intensified by having spent a couple of years working part time, or out of the labour market altogether. For all lone parents, the lack of a second earner, or the potential for one, means that they will almost always be worse off than couples.

Women past the age of retirement, especially single older women are particularly likely to be poor. The sad fact is that the pension system is an example of a policy made with men in mind, assuming that a long unbroken work history was the norm. Women were bolted on as an after thought. It was taken for granted that women who did not work, or cared for family or friends instead of engaging in paid employment would themselves be taken care of in their old age by their husbands' pensions. However, husbands are not always forever; through widowhood or divorce these women have been left without recompense for the years of valuable and important work they undertook.

Images of women's financial situations tend to be segmented into the career woman, the wife and mother, and the single parent. Policies are made to suit each of these neat individual categories. In reality, women occupy these categories simultaneously or move through these stages during their life cycle. Politicians need to make policies which can accommodate this.