Feminization of poverty

Feminization of poverty is the phenomenon that women represent disproportionate percentages of the world's poor.UNIFEM describes it as "the burden of poverty borne by women, especially in developing countries". This phenomenon is not only a consequence of lack of income, but is also the result of the deprivation of capabilities and gender biases present in both societies and governments. This includes the poverty of choices and opportunities, such as the ability to lead a long, healthy, and creative life, and enjoy basic rights like freedom, respect, and dignity. Women's increasing share of poverty is related to the rising incidence of lone mother households. The term feminization of poverty itself is controversial and has been defined in many different ways. In 1978, Diana Pearce coined the term, "the feminization of poverty" after doing much research and seeing how many women struggled with poverty within the United States, as well as globally. According to Pearce's research, two-thirds of the poor who were over age 16 were women.

Several factors affect the feminization of poverty, and these factors place women at high risk of poverty. Multiple factors contribute to women’s economic insecurity, including the gender wage gap, women’s prevalence in low-paid occupations, a lack of work-family supports, and the challenges involved in accessing public benefits. Though low income is the major cause, there are many interrelated facets of this problem. Lone mothers are usually at the highest risk for extreme poverty because their income is insufficient to rear children. It then lowers their children's possibilities for good education and nourishment. Low income is a consequence of the social bias women face in trying to obtain formal employment, which in turn deepens the cycle of poverty. As the number of women in poverty increases, the diverse causes affecting their poverty must be examined. Poverty is multidimensional, and therefore economic, demographic, and socio-cultural factors all 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. Income deprivation prevents women from attaining resources and converting their monetary resources into socioeconomic status. Not only does higher income allow greater access to job skills; obtaining more job skills raises income as well. As women earn less income than men, they are deprived of basic education and health care, which eventually becomes a cycle to debilitate women's ability to earn higher income.

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