Explanations for the Feminization of Poverty

– Examining possible causes for the feminization of poverty, scholarship has primarily focused
on changes in family structure, the economy and labor force participation rates, and the impact
of the welfare state.
- Notably, while these social and economic factors have effected women differently over time
and across context, they have been consistently addressed by the literature as structural
barriers impacting women’s economic inequality.
- In addition, causes of the gender poverty gap are not all the same for women from a diverse
array of backgrounds. - Therefore, the following sections review the dominant empirical and
theoretical explanations for the feminization of poverty, emphasizing how differences by
gender, race/ethnicity, age, and region impact the diversity of women’s experiences with
poverty.

Family Structures
- Provided that poverty is measured at the household level, scholars attempting to explain the
gender poverty gap have focused primarily on the relationship between family structure and
income inequality.
- Research on the global feminization of poverty has found early marriage to be correlated with
higher poverty for girls; “girls who are married or widowed in the 15–17 age group (only one
percent of all poor girls) are 11.2 and 30.6 percentage points more likely to live in poor
households compared to the average young women of that same age” (World Bank 2018, p.
14).
- Further, among women, global data indicates that, regardless of age, widowhood is a poverty
increasing factory. - As such, the population of women living separately from men means that
more women are now occupying the role of female head of household.
- Current research suggests that dual-earner households enable married couples to achieve a
higher standard of living compared to their single counterparts as both members of the
partnership are able to contribute economically and socially to the household (Padavic and
Reskin 2002).
- Households headed by single women are at a greater risk of living below the poverty line for
two key reasons.
- First, single women are more likely to be living with children than single men. This is a result
an increase in the number of children born to unmarried mothers (McLanahan and Kelly 2006)
and increasing divorce rates among partners with children, which generally leave mothers with
custody of their children.
- Second, parenthood leads to lower earnings for women, which contribute to the income
inequality and the gender poverty gap (Waldfogel 1997).
- In fact, because women with children are more likely to reduce their hours of paid work or
leave the labor force in order to take care of caregiving responsibilities at home, women are
often faced with a motherhood wage penalty (Budig and England 2001).
- Changes in women’s family structures have been widely addressed as a mechanism behind
the gender poverty gap; yet factors determining marital status, single motherhood, and fertility
rates vary by country context and race/ethnicity.
Education and the Labor Market
- Assuming the gender income gap preconditions the gender poverty gap, theoretical
explanations for the feminization of poverty have traditionally identified differences in human
capital, such as educational attainment and participation in the paid labor force, as key forces
shaping women’s income inequality.
- However, scholars have noted that regardless of the fact that women’s labor force
participation rates have increased dramatically over the years, particularly among developed
countries, this has not translated directly into increased economic security.
- In fact, according to a World Bank Report (2018), women continue to earn less compared to
their male counterpart in almost all developed and developing countries; however the extent to
which men outearn women varies by country.
- Examining the persistence of this income gap, researchers have identified how occupational
sex segregation, “the concentration of women in one set of jobs and men in another” (IWRP
2016, p. 5), continues to contribute to the gender income gap.
- In fact, according to Hegewisch et al. (2010), at every skill level – low, medium, and high –
median earnings are highest in male-dominated occupations and lowest in female-dominated
occupations. As a result, as women are tracked into lower paid jobs often part-time jobs,
women continue to be at a greater risk of living below the poverty line.
- According to the World Bank Report (2018), in all countries, women have been shown to
work fewer hours than men in paid employment while performing the majority of unpaid
household labor, which subsequently reduces their ability to work in the paid sector.
- Therefore, what is traditionally considered women’s work is not only devalued monetarily but
simultaneously impedes their ability to achieve economic equality.
- In fact, in a cross-national examination of occupational gender segregation, Pressman (2003)
found that across ten industrialized countries, the “gender poverty gap” would be roughly 20%
lower if women household heads had the same occupations as men household heads. -
Moreover, beyond occupational gender segregation, some countries continue to show
substantial gender differences in labor market participation.
Government and Public Assistance
- While causal explanations for the persistence of the feminization of poverty have primarily
centered on differences in human capital and changing family structures, less emphasis has
traditionally been put on the state and women’s ability to access public benefits.
- Notably, because some benefits are provided through the tax system, such as food stamps or
housing subsidies, they are not counted as a part of a family’s household income and are
therefore not included in calculating many poverty rates.
- Women living below the poverty line have been shown to benefit greatly from policies and
subsidies aimed at aiding women with children, particularly single mothers.
- In a study conducted by Misra et al. (2007), findings unveiled how, cross-nationally, poverty
rates varied by policy strategy.
- Therefore, although such programs are protective against families falling deeper into poverty,
they are less likely to pull families out of poverty altogether
- While the relationship between government assistance and women’s poverty rates has been
well documented, more recent data indicate that women’s ability to access public assistance
programs may be creating additional barriers for women’s economic advancement.
- Often among eligible individuals, many are unable to receive support, regardless of whether
or not they qualify, because of complications with the application process, lack of
transportation, and inconvenient appointment times to complete the application process.
 - Because women are more likely to be raising children, and poor women are more likely to be
raising children on their own (Garfinkel and McLanahan 1986), finding the time and resources
to successfully apply for government aid may prove more difficult.