In Canadian Societies the group that are looked upon as disadvantaged, are suspected to increases in poverty. The groups are;
- Women
- Children
- Persons with Disability
- Aboriginal People
Women
- Increasingly evident is that women’s economic dependency within a patriarchal society has made poverty very likely
- Known as Feminization of poverty; means that, without the support of a man, a women is likely to be poor. (Stats on pg.206)
- At every stage of their lives, women are more prone to poverty than men, and more likely to be trapped, and eventually die, in a life of poverty
The household as an economic unit
Private Realm
- Social and Biological reproduction (mostly women dominated)
Public Realm
- Productive Labour, earning an income (dominated by men)
Women Men
* Double Ghetto
- Unpaid Domestic Labour *Highly paid, high-status
- Poorly Paid (low-status pink- white-collar, physical blue
Collar jobs in paid work force collar
* Private Realm *Public Realm
- greater suitability for -greater suitability for hard
soft, emotional, passive, & nurturant cold aggressive,
roles of wife, mother, and overall caregiver competitive marketplace
- Traditional Pink Collar sectors clerical, teaching, nursing, social work, and domestic violence.
~ Double Day- to do a full day’s work outside of the home during the day, followed by the equivalent amount of time doing domestic labour required to keep the household operating.
~ Women were “pushed” into the labour force as result of economic downturn (recession). Single income homes were experiencing economic difficulties.
~ 1989, 58% Canadian women in paid labour force
~ Women are getting “pulled” out off traditional pink-collar jobs.
~ Technological Changes
– Bule-collar jobs are been lost, typically male dominated
– Unemployment in bule-collar areas has pushed women into the labour force, in some cases have become the sole breadwinner
– Has opened vast opportunities for traditional female-dominated women, example clerical work.
~ Lone Parents
– In 1991, lone-parents made up 13% of all Canadian families (separation, divorce, widowhood, and single parents after or no marriage.
– Female lone-parents tend to be young, less educated, and more likely to live in poverty
– 1991 30% of poor families were lone mothers.
– Become dependent on sate and face systemic blocks to their opportunities to “get off the system.”
– Excludes women from getting enough education and training to develop a career that might eventually lead to economic independence (early pregnancy)
– Old women, outlive male counterparts, may find themselves impoverished , living in a fixed income and all alone.
– Growing visibility of homeless women.
~ Children
– 1million children growing in poverty
– 1 out of 5 children living in poverty
– Children are more vulnerable to poverty, dependent, economically as well as emotionally, on the family unit (if the family is poor so are the children)
– Causes of poverty; chronic illness, physical disability, or emotional difficulties; poor academics attainment; dropping out of high school; living in unsafe housing; smoking; and early pregnancy.
~ Persons With Disabilities
Defined as ” any restrictions or lack (resulting from an impairment) of ability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being”
– Considered FREAKS at first, b/c unentitled to work
– Routinely discriminated against in the job market
– Depend on state support, incomes tend to be low and geared at providing a subsistence level of survival.
– Gender and disability are a bad combo!! Stats on pg’s 212-213
~ Aboriginal People
– Strong likelihood of poverty, disease, and short lifespan
– History of hatred, discrimination, violence against them, and imperialistic state
– Structurally maintained in a situation of poverty example reserves
– SYSTEMIC DISCRIMINATION and racism at the hands of schools, and employers
Consequences Of Poverty
~ Poor-Quality Food & Health
– Families buy cheap food, usually additives and high fat content are common in low-priced foods
– Consuming high does causes cancer such as chroinic disease (always related to poverty)
– Lack of educations, cause of poor diet
– Illness during winter, can’t afford expensive winter clothing
– Food banks and shelters given to help the poor
– 40% are children at food banks
– 40% that use tat use the food bank are people with high school diplomas or more
~ Welfare
– Below the low-income cutoffs.
– 63% of recipients were families in 1990.
~ Homelessness
– Is a category for those who have no fixed address.
– Live in a capitalist society, considered “underclass”
– NO one know how many homeless people there are b/c no one monitors them
– Public Sector –fixed address, phone #, SIN#, driver’s licence, health insurance, bank account, and Paid employment
– Homeless people considered less than human, and belong in the gutter (humanity, is homefulness and property ownership.
– Rely on Soup kitchens, food banks, emergency shelters, public washrooms, public transportation, public libraries, and all-night doughnut shops
– Women’ economic dependency means that they are more vulnerable to becoming homeless.
– Concealed homelessness – means the condition of living temporarily with friends or family.
– Potential homelessness—means those, particularly women, who could be homeless at any time or will be soon. Dependency on male breadwinners whose paid labour provides a roof over their heads, these women are not yet homeless.