Poverty is a growing global social issue affecting even the most established world economies. However, women form the greatest percentage of the poor, and the problem continues to spread. Empirical evidence asserts that structural factors accelerate this occurrence, pushing them to abject poverty. The key reasons include gender wage gaps, the lack of supportive work-family policies, and inaccessible and inadequate public supports.
In the U.S., women earn less than men on average, and the gap is wider for women of color. According to the 2018 U.S. Census Bureau data, women contracted on a full-time basis earn 18 cents less for every dollar made by their male counterparts (Bleiweis et al., 2020). The gap is driven by years of experience, differences in industries or jobs, and hours worked. It is also compounded by the occupational segregation of women into low-paying jobs, which prevented them from getting jobs matching their skills to bridge the gap. The discrimination is unnecessary as both genders deserve equal opportunities in the workplace.
Moreover, the work-family policies in place are inconsiderate and unsupportive as they do not enable women to manage work and caregiving. Such regulations lack adequate child care funding, paid sick leave laws, and a national medical and paid family leave program (Bleiweis et al., 2020). The ones aimed at enabling women to participate in the labor force are unreliable and unaffordable. This caregiving burden limits their ability to work and earn as desired, which leads to the growth in poverty.
Furthermore, the public supports available are inaccessible and inadequate to cater for women’s needs. These social assistance programs include Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program(SNAP), Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families(TANF), social security, unemployment insurance, child tax credit (CTC), and earned income tax credit(EITC) (Bleiweis et al., 2020). They are primarily designed to alleviate financial hardships, but most of them are beneficial to men only. Women who manage to access them receive partial assistance because of the general belief that men deserve the help they offer more.
It is essential to ensure that the gender wage gap is reduced, supportive work-family policies are introduced, and the available public supports made more accessible and adequate. When these steps are taken as desired, both men and women will benefit. Additionally, bringing these issues under control will ensure that the feminization of poverty is curtailed. Therefore, the federal and state governments must take adequate measures to provide suitable solutions to women.
Reference
Bleiweis, R., Boesch, D., & Gaines, A. (2020). The basic facts about women in poverty – Center for American Progress. Center for American Progress. Web.