Population development is intended to eradicate poverty and the fight against its feminization, the spread of which in society leads to a situation where women have relatively fewer resources, including income, property, assets than men. In the general image of impoverishment, the status of women is the most complex. The problem of female poverty is exacerbated by hidden discrimination, an inadequate safety net, which brings its aggravation. The fact of the poverty feminization can be observed through the number of women being in socially vulnerable groups, sectoral segregation, in other words, the predominance of women in low-paid sectors, and the increase in the level of women unemployment.
Households faced with natural disasters or economic recession had to take action to manage the fallouts from the crisis. Primarily they focused on the responses that did not come at the cost of the productive household base and did not reduce economic indicators. According to Kabeer, these might include laying off the number of meals, loan facilities, removing or denying treatment, depleting household storages, taking children out of school, and temporary migration on a job search (196). Reduced consumption occurred more often due to women’s expense than men as women’s goods were sold off in the first place (Kabeer, 197). In extreme cases of impoverishment, employable males quit family, leaving women to look after the very young and aged. Sometimes women were forced to migrate to cities to earn money and to leave their children in shelters (Kabeer, 197). Meanwhile, the second-order effect leads to the phenomenon of added workers: women agreed to work for lower wages to meet the basic needs of the household. It has resulted in growing female labor force participation in conditions of high unemployment or underemployment.
With regard to policies that could address these effects, there are some categories of responses. The first is the growth of women’s employment, which might balance the ratio of earners to eligible dependent (Kabeer 198). According to Chants, the other tool is the fight with preconception in the workplace with the assistance of policy measures, namely law compliance (189). Furthermore, another effective method is raising awareness within the family, especially among girls and female family members, to solve the problem of gender equality and the empowerment of women.
Girl Effect is an independent, non-profit organization created in September 2015; it focuses on the belief that with a given opportunity, girls can bring their countries out of poverty. It was founded by Nike Foundation, which presented the idea and purposes at the World Economic Forum in Davos. From this point onward, the organization has been criticized and accused of the duplicity of its actions. According to Heiken, the company caused some harm to the female population in developing countries (1366). The financial progress is associated with a reduction in the gender gap in higher education. It helps narrow educational gaps by freeing up time from household work and providing a safer school environment. Heiken argues that the IMF does not endeavor to combat illiteracy and lack of qualified medical care since it cuts back the budget share to develop these domains (1366). “The widespread unemployment caused by the 2008 financial crisis – of which Goldman Sachs was a primary driver – continues to negatively affect women’s livelihoods in the global South” (Hickel, 1366). While microcredits enable women to participate in the production, on a large scale, such loans become impossible due to a lack of social and state assistance in the payment of loan interest. Real empowerment should start by democratizing global governance.
Empowerment includes strategies and measures that are intended to increase the degree of autonomy and self-determination of people or communities. Empowerment describes the process of self-empowerment and the professional support of people overcoming their feeling of powerlessness and perceiving their scope and resources. Hickel argues that “empowerment interventions rely on assumptions about the freedom that are particular to the Western liberal tradition, which focuses on achieving individual authenticity and self-mastery” (1356). Although in the South, women’s economic empowerment has been considered crucial in promoting gender equality and poverty alleviation, there are some issues related to this term. “Such orientations are unlikely to achieve little in themselves since the feminization of poverty is an issue of inequality that extends to the very basis of women’s position in economic relations” (Chant, 186). A large number of poverty programs are addressed in the women’s material state instead of their position; consequently, they tend to fail.
Women’s economic empowerment is one of the essential factors contributing to achieving gender equality, finding solutions to reduce poverty, and improving access to services such as medicine and education. Gender equality is not only one of the fundamental human rights, but also a necessary foundation for peace, prosperity, and sustainable development. The success of creating sustainable economies and benefit humanity as a whole depends on equal access to education, health care, a decent job, and participation in political and economic decision-making processes. The empowerment of women requires common efforts, including strengthening the legal framework, combating gender-based discrimination, which is often the result of patriarchal attitudes and related social norms.
Works Cited
Chant, Sylvia. “The ‘Feminisation of Poverty’ and the ‘Feminisation’ of Anti-Poverty Programmes: Room for Revision?”. The Journal of Development Studies, vol. 44, no. 2, 2008, pp.165-197.
Hickel, Jason. “The ‘Girl effect’: Liberalism, Empowerment and the Contradictions of Development.” Third World Quarterly, vol. 3 no. 8, 2014, pp.1355-1373.
Kabeer, Naila. “Gender, Poverty, and Inequality: A Brief History of Feminist Contributions in the Field of International Development.” Gender & Development, vol. 23, no. 2, 2015, pp. 189-205.