Feminization+of+Poverty

__ Single Mothers Becoming the Face of Poverty __

As more and more women have been accepted into the work force it has given them the opportunities and ability to leave relationships which are not meeting their needs, whether the relationship was an abusive one or if they are just not genuinely happy in their relationships. This freedom to leave such relationships has caused more and more women to leave their husbands, which in turn has caused the increase of divorce rates. As more and more women are getting divorces and leaving their husbands, there are more and more disgruntled men who begin to feel alienated. When these women leave their husbands, they often times end up taking any children which they had with the man along with them too. This means that the number of single mothers is increasing. Often times these women end up having to take care of two or even more children. This single parenting and providing for children puts an extra strain on these women. This is true with these women because even though they now hold paying jobs does not mean that their duties at home have decreased in any way. In fact, in most cases, it has increased because they are now no longer receiving any of the help which may have come from their husbands. This increased demand of time, money and energy cannot always be met by these single mothers and it is very common for these women and their children to fall into poverty. When this occurs, the children are usually forced to enter the working force at much younger ages and most times do not receive an adequate education. This lack of importance which is placed on education most often times will cause the children of these mothers to then remain in poverty even once they have grown older. This cycle then continues generation after generation and the only way to stop it is to obtain a good education for the children of one of the generation in hopes that when they grow up, they can provide better for their family and children and pull them out of poverty. This however is an almost impossible task which is achieved by very few and causes a great strain and burden on the family which undergoes the change. This extra burden is caused because the children are taken out of the work place where they earn money to support the family and are instead placed into school where they learn. In later hopes that they will use this education to obtain a better paying job and ease the economic burden of the family off of the future generations of children so that they too can attend school and slowly pull the family out of poverty one generation at a time. This occurance happens even more so when talking about African American women. It has been found that there is a greater tendency for African american women to fall into poverty more so than white women. The feminization of poverty is a term which describes an occurance which is in no way good. Therefore the use of this term should always be regaurded with high respect and full knowledge of what the term implies.

Sources: Sernau, Scott. "Global Problems: The Search for Equality, Peace, and Sustainability". Second Edition. Pearson Education, Inc. (2009). 5 May 2011.

Chant, Sylvia. “The ‘Feminisation of Poverty’ and the ‘Feminisation’ of Anti-Poverty Programmes: Room for Revision?” Journal of Development Studies. (2008) 165-197. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost. Web. 6 May 2011.

 Ezeala-Harrison, Fidel. “ ”. Journal of Developing Areas. (2010) 149-166. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost. Web. 6 May 2011.

This article discusses the global trend of the feminization of poverty. It asserts that this issue should be a major global concern because women’s roles in the global economy have increased and their roles as head of the household contribute to a nearly inescapable spiral of poverty. This cycle arises when women work more hours but earn less, which takes valuable time away that could be spent with children. The article urges states to invest more in women as a means of breaking the vicious cycles of poverty. The more productive they can be, while at the same time being allowed time necessary to be proper nurturers of their children, the more the society will advance.

Source:

** Buvinic, Mayra. “Women in poverty: A new global underclass. (Cover Story).” //Foreign Policy// 108 (1997): 38. //Academic Search Premier//. EBSCO. Web. 6 May 6, 2011. **