Across the world, both rich and poor, women are subject to a wide range of biases, from unequal opportunities in education and employment to asset ownership, these all mean that women have fewer opportunities. In developed countries the problem of the gender gap is not only economically determined, women can suffer the effects of “feminisation of poverty” through socio-economic disparity, particularly in education and employment etc. However it is clear poverty accentuates these gender gaps with women being most vulnerable in these situations.
Women living in poverty are often denied access to critical resources. Their labour goes unrewarded and unrecognised. For example in sub-Saharan Africa, women produce up to 80 percent of basic foodstuffs both for household consumption and go unpaid. Their health care and nutritional needs are not given priority; they lack sufficient access to education and support services, and their contribution to decision-making at home and in the community are minimal. Caught in the cycle of poverty, women lack access to resources and services to change their situation.
Feminisation of Poverty and its effect on violence:
The feminisation of poverty can be both a cause and a consequence of violence against women, with poverty and violence against women literally go hand in hand. Although women from all socio-economic groups are at risk of physical, sexual and psychological abuse and deprivation by their partners, it is clear that women living in impoverished conditions have an increased risk of violence. Murder rates worldwide, for example, are found to be highest in areas where poverty is the most prevalent, showing a direct correlation between violence and poverty.
For example, African women, who are undoubtedly one of the poorest divisions of the world, are more than ten times likely to experience an incidence of violence compared to their white counterparts. Recent South African police statistics also show that levels of rape are often highest in regions, which are economically less developed.
Although there is a lot of evidence to suggest violence and poverty are heavily linked the problem is by no means confined to the developing regions. A report alleged that in the United States, a woman is beaten by her husband or partner on average every 15 seconds and one woman is raped every 90 seconds, while in France 25,000 women are raped each year.
The Future:
Although it is clear that there remains much disparity between males and females in society, many inequities that women previously faced have been overcome and worldwide the degree of poverty that women suffer has decreased. For example women have increased their number in the paid workforce worldwide and the percentage of women in parliamentary positions has increased, in the Seychelles 46% of MP’s are female and 23% in Cuba are women. Worldwide women’s health has improved; increased education has had a marked effect in improving maternal and family health, as well as given women a choice in family planning.
Through programs and initiatives being developed by organizations every day we can imagine that in years to come more and more of the disadvantages that women face today will have been overcome, and the gender gap will begin to diminish. Hopefully then men and women across the world will stand at the same level and be totally and wholly equal.
