Women and the poverty trap
Geethika Jayatilaka, of Fawcett, argues that the Government must do something to reduce the high incidence of poverty among women
Women are over represented amongst the poor, globally. People don't seem to have a problem with this when they see pictures of women from far away countries holding starving children to their breasts. But when these come from places closer to home, people are far less comfortable with the idea.
Even the government is not completely happy with the concept; they have made an admirable commitment to end child poverty within 20 years. However, they still talk about child poverty without discussing the seemingly obvious: that children are poor because their mothers are poor.
Obviously, not all women are poor, but women are over represented amongst the low paid (those on the National Minimum Wage) and those who live in poverty. The main reason that women are poor is because they continue to be the ones who care for the dependent: children, the elderly and the sick. This affects their ability to provide for themselves financially, in both the short and long term. The need for flexibility in work in order to cope with family responsibilities means putting up with the poorer pay. This forces women to either take part-time work and the 'top-up' state benefits available to them, or leave work altogether (this is particularly true of lower income mothers for whom the costs of childcare make it less worthwhile to carry on working).
Two groups of women are particularly likely to be poor: lone parents and pensioners. This is because both are disadvantaged by a system which fails to value women who care for others. It is traditionally assumed that women's incomes and work are unimportant because their partners will provide for them.
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