Lecture Ten

It should come as no surprise that women are disproportionately affected by poverty. Many of the issues that we've discussed in this class (and a number of issues that we haven't) are explicitly or implicitly connected to poverty. Women are the shock absorbers of poverty, both in the US and in the world. American women are nearly 40% more likely to be poor than American men and 70% of the world's poorest people are women. In fact, the poverty rate has been going down for the last several decades. Unfortunately, the majority of those escaping poverty have been men, and the number of women and female-headed families who live in poverty continues to increase. This trend is often referred to as the feminization of poverty and continues to be a problem for women living in the US and for women globally.

Unfortunately, poor women—and particularly poor women of color—are scapegoats for many of our societal ills. In particular, unwed mothers are often seen as the driving force behind poverty, crime and a host of other problems. Many believe that if women would just get married (and stayed married) children would be provided for, the economy would flourish, crime would go down and so would taxes. This rationale is highly problematic and in effect treats the characteristics of poverty as the cause of poverty—implicitly blaming women (particularly single mothers) for being poor. Being a single mother in our society is exceptionally difficult without things like subsidized childcare or a livable minimum wage . Despite these difficulties, many women living in poverty manage to defy popular stereotypes that equate people who are poor with being lazy and unemployed. The majority of poor women with children under age 6 are employed at low wage jobs that do not pay enough to lift them out of poverty.

Women who are poor are frequently eligible for Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) also called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) but better know as welfare. Unfortunately welfare programs do not raise a family's income level above the poverty line ( national poverty line for a woman with one child is $16,500 ). Benefits are so low in every state (ranging between 15-80% of the poverty line) that a family receiving welfare remains in poverty. Without decent social supports, many women rely on a partner/husband to help keep the family financially buoyant . Such reliance can often compel a woman to remain in a relationship that is violent—the number one reason that women give for remaining in a violent relationship is financial dependency.

Women's poverty is a feminist issue and, like so many other issues we discuss, is primarily about choice. Today, the choices that poor women face are dismal and demeaning —low wage work, uncompensated domestic work, state assistance and welfare. Adequate public transportation, subsidized childcare, flexible work schedule and a livable minimum wage would certainly go far towards bringing women out of poverty. Unfortunately, marriage continues to remain the only real route out of poverty, creating a society of male dependence that is at the least unhealthy and at the worst violent and oppressive. Women's poverty is a public issue that requires public solutions. Women have the right to earn their own independence. It has become a sad state of affairs that our society glorifies motherhood but regulates and even punishes poor mothers and their children.