In today’s society, women are experiencing poverty at higher rates compared to their male counterparts which is a direct result from gender inequality and discrimination. The constant increase of poverty rates among women have continuously increased since the 19th century due to several factors. With the increase in divorce, gender inequality and stereotypes, wage gap, and discrimination in the workforce, women have been forced into a downward spiral towards poverty struggling in our current economy. These women are deprived of economic opportunities and experiences that many men automatically have. Women are the most vulnerable and represent the highest proportion of poverty in America. The feminization of poverty alludes to the unbalanced number of women experiencing poverty or destitution as an immediate outcome of women’s unequal access to economic, social, and financial chances.
Nowadays divorce is more common and is easier to accomplish than before; consequently, divorce rates have risen since the 19th century. As stated in the reading “Welfare and the Family: The US Experience”, Murray(1993) asserts, “in the 1960s, there was a rapid rise in divorce and in the proportion of children born to single women”. Due to the increase in divorce, women are more likely to be single and are forced to raise a family alone. This means that these women have a single income household while still raising a family; single women are forced to take on both the roles of earning an income and caring for her children. This is simply impossible: single women do not have the ability or time to fulfill both roles on their own. Subsequently, this leads to the increase in feminization of poverty in America.
Because of the increase in divorce rates, another problem single mothers face is balancing two full time jobs: caregiver and income earner. According to “It’s a Family Affair: Women, Poverty, and Welfare”, Albelda and Tilly(1996:606) state, “single mothers face a “triple whammy””. Not only do single mothers have to work a full time job or often even two jobs, but they must also take care of their kids. By being the only adult in the family, this means the mother is the only provider for the family. Because the mother is the sole caregiver, worker, and provider, she often has to work two jobs in order to attempt to keep up with the monthly expenses. On top of this, single mothers must juggle paid and unpaid work. These mothers must earn a steady income while still fulfilling the role of being a caregiver for her children and taking care of her children without any help. Because of this, women are at higher risk for poverty; they are practically working two full time jobs and doing so much on their own without a partner’s help and little rest.
Furthermore, most women stay at home after having a baby because not only are they exhausted, but they also want to bond with and care for their newborn. In order to take care of the family, women often work part time or have to stop working all together. If a woman took time off work to be a stay at home mom, finding a job later on is significantly harder. According to the class lecture (Shin: Oct 9, 2018), “it is hard to be a stay at home mother because it becomes exponentially harder to find a job”. Also, these women can not put “stay at home mom” on their resumes because it is seen as an excuse and makes them less desirable from employer’s perspective. Simply put, stay at home mothers are discriminated in the job market and are looked down upon. This decreases their chances of being hired and holds them back.
Besides being looked down upon in the workforce, gender roles and stereotyping add onto the feminization of poverty. Although both women and men face gender discrimination, the outcome of gender discrimination creates more disadvantages for women. Gender roles are determined by prevailing cultural and social norms and are certain behaviors, responsibilities, or roles that are expected out of either males or females. Society’s norms have created a false belief that a woman’s main role is to care for her children. Thus, women take on jobs that fit their gender specific role. According to the class lecture (Shin: Oct 9, 2018), these norms and beliefs impact the type of work women can obtain, the type of family responsibilities, and the type of choices they make. Occupations that are female dominant usually have lower status, lower pay, and insecure benefits. For example, women usually hold administrative or service-oriented work such as secretaries, retail jobs, or family child care providers. In this regard, women may struggle to pay monthly wages and stay above the poverty line. This makes single mothers extremely susceptible to poverty.
Furthermore, gender roles and stereotyping affect the wage gap between women and men. Even though more women are educated and receive the same education as men, women’s incomes are still lower than men for any job such as physicians, lawyers, waiters, or teachers. As stated in the class lecture (Shin: Oct 9, 2018), “in 2011, women’s earning were 77% of men’s. The average male income was $48,202 while the average for females was $37,118”. This exemplifies the significant wage difference between men and women. In our society, females still have lower wages compared to men who have the same education, background, and experience. Because of this, a single mother’s income is insufficient in order to raise children on her own. As a result, this leaves them at high risk for poverty and further increases the feminization of poverty.
In addition to the income gap, welfare does not fulfill its job of helping single mothers. Women earn less money than men and often take time off of work when having a baby which makes it much harder to keep up with regular household expenses on a woman’s income than a man’s income. This results in more women depending on welfare programs. However, modern welfare programs do not provide enough for these women. Currently, these programs have a limit of how long recipients may stay on welfare and do not provide enough resources for recipients to get off of welfare. Also, there are not enough jobs for welfare recipients; however, if a recipient is lucky enough to find a job, it is extremely hard to find transportation to the job and daycare services for the kids. Furthermore, the jobs do not pay enough for a woman and her children to live comfortably. Women have many barriers and obstacles that they must overcome. As a result, the welfare structure prevents women from breaking the cycle of dependency on welfare programs forcing women into a never ending cycle of low pay jobs and lower economic status. In addition, single mothers should be provided with support and case-management to monitor them to ensure that they are heading in the right direction towards earning a job and leaving welfare.
In order to demolish the feminization of poverty, the welfare system needs to be improved to help single mothers instead of discriminating them. The problem is not with the welfare recipients but rather the logic of capitalism and economic and political policies that deprive people of jobs, adequate wages, and support. The new system needs to motivate and provide welfare recipients with more resources and support. First, jobs that are easily accessible must be created. These jobs must offer sufficient wages so that welfare recipients can live above the poverty line. Also, these jobs must offer proper benefits such as medical coverage. Daycare and transportation services should be offered for anyone that needs it. Also, free education or skills classes should be provided. Most welfare recipients have very little education and have high school degrees as their highest form of education, so new welfare programs should promote education instead of work. This would help make sure that welfare recipients can earn jobs with good pay rather than working low skill and low wage jobs. With more education and skills, welfare recipients will have an opportunity to improve their financial situation by starting a solid career. This will help ensure that these welfare recipients stay off of welfare.
Besides improving the welfare system, another way to solve the issue of feminization of poverty in America is to educate the public. There are a lot of stereotypes and false consciousness about welfare recipients that aren’t true. Without knowing the solid facts, society will not have the ability to change. The public needs to be informed about the realities that females face on welfare. Once people are educated and knowledgeable, Americans will be able to come together, unite, and work towards a common goal so that change and reform can occur. All of these solutions together will help decrease the feminization of poverty and help restore confidence, stability, and equality for women in America today.