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Various factors contributing to poverty
History of economic gender inequality
The effects of gender inequality
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The economy creates systems of poverty for women in rural and developing nations. This is because the social construction of economic patriarchal systems fuels the deep connection between women and nature through three different aspects. First, economics is socially constructed as gendered and oppressive. Second, women have a special relationship with natural that can be examined in the evidence of women’s lack of autonomy in means of production that interlocks women and nature into continuous cycles of degradation and oppression. Third, these oppressive constructions create interlocking systems of poverty. Economics is a socially constructed gendered and sexist system. Julie Nelson, of Why Women Will Save the Planet, describes economic systems
All people are forced to see themselves as society has shaped them, both male and female. Although progress for gender impartiality has been made, it can still be said that societal maxims enforce the incorrect notion that women are inferior to men. In matters of economics, women are offered far fewer employment opportunities, and I believe that this can be validated by the fact that many women have been conditioned to "marry well and let him...
Gender order according to our text is labeled as “hierarchal” (2008), stating that “Men dominate women in terms of wealth, power, and social position, but not all men dominate all women” (2008). While this may be true, it is creating a divide between the two genders. This divide is apparent by looking at the pay scales between men and women, and even how the genders are looked at in terms of jobs or college admissions. Looking at today’s society however, women are slowly rising to compete with their male counterparts, in many ways, from education, government, and even television, for example Oprah Winfrey.
In “Gender as a Social Structure: Theory Wrestling with Activism”, the author Barbara Risman explains her theory to readers about how gender should be thought of as a social structure. Thinking of it as such would allow people to examine how gender is ingrained in almost every part of society, thus putting gender on an equal level of importance with economics and politics. In society, gender dictates many of the opportunities and limitations that an individual may face in his or her lifetime. Barbara Risman points out the three aspects of the gender structure that happen at an individual, interactional, and institutional level (Risman, pg. 446). First, gender contributes to how a person will develop themselves in life. This is the “individual level”. At an interactional level, men and women face different expectations that are set by society. The individual and interactional level are linked because sometimes, changes to one level can affect the other. The third level, the institutional level, notes that gender is affected by laws, rules, and organizational practices that dictate what
There are nearly as many women as there are men working, yet, as it was discovered in 2011, on average, a woman will only earn seventy-seven cents for every dollar that a man earns. Women owned businesses make up for over a quarter of all national businesses and earn more than one point two trillion dollars (“Assessing the Past, Taking Stock of the Future” 6). Since many women are now becoming are the primary sources of income in the household, making less that a man does not only negatively affect families, but also the overall economy suffers as well. These women, among many others, are the ones who end up purchasing the supplies that go toward improving communities and stimulating the economy. There is no reason that the general public should stand for this. Women should be treated equally to men in today’s American society based on their biological compositions, psychological profiles and contributions to history.
Feminization of poverty refers to the phenomenon in which women experience poverty at rates that are disproportionately high in comparison to men (Abbate). It is important to understand because the female is one of the majorities of billions of people worldwide to live under $1 a day. This also goes beyond income or suffering. This has the ability to destroy generations of poverty, hopelessness, and well-being of families.
The text of “The Woman Question” is ardent in its defense of economics and women. For Eleanor, the only way to improve the status of women was to tie it to the class movement. “The question is one of economics. The position of women rests, as everything in our complex modern society rests, on an economic basis” (Marx 1886). With the phrase, “everything in our complex modern society,” Eleanor not only casts herself as an economist, but establishes that any venture, be it social or academic, is fundamentally economic in nature. Thus, once she establishes that feminism is inherently an economic issue, the connection between her father’s socialist theories and her own feminism becomes clear.
In the book Caliban and the Witch by Silvia Federici, she explains to us the history and effect of capitalism in society through a women’s perspective. The book goes into great detail on the many aspects of capitalism and focuses on various elements of it such as primitive accumulation, women, and labor. Silvia provides the reader with her view of capitalism and how it spawned from oppression of gender, and class. Caliban and the Witch give deep insight into the roles of women during this time and how women and many classes were meant to stay at the bottom of the barrel while the rich continued to capitalize off of them. According to Silvia, the first signs of struggle against the government appeared during the times of feudalism. Since then there has been a pattern of oppression without any real end in sight. Capitalism has long
The Forest People is a great example of the patterns expressed by Friedl in her article. Friedl’s hypothesis that men tend to dominate based on the amount of resources distributed and on the division of labor based on sex is proven through the actions of the BaMbuti people. The present dominance that exists by men in nearly every culture is one that is likely to continue for many years if not forever. Friedl suggests that “as long as women spend their discretionary income from jobs on domestic needs, they will gain little social recognition and power” (269). She proposes that the only way women will attain equality is to “gain access to positions that control the exchange of resources” (269). If in fact women do continue to gain these higher positions, then male dominance may eventually become obsolete and egalitarianism may one day become the basis of industrial societies.
Women make up 70% of the world’s 1.5 billion people living in absolute poverty, basically earning less than $2 USD a day. Women perform 66% of the world’s work, produce 50% of the food, but earn 10% of the income and own 1% of the property. (Unicef , “Gender Equality—The Big Picture,” 2007). There are 876 million illiterate adults and from that 2/3 of them are women (AIC Training Booklet “Women & Poverty” 2007). In the United States, the poverty rate is higher for women, 13.8% of females are poor compared to 11.1 % of men (US Census Bureau, 2007). Women today face many hardships and suffer throughout the world because of poverty and the multiple factors that contribute to it. The “Feminization of Poverty” is a multifaceted problem that does not only have a huge impact on women, but to their children and the society as a whole. This term describes a phenomenon in which women represent unequal percentages of the world’s poor. The UNIFEM describes it as “ the burden of poverty borne by women, especially in developing countries” (“Economic Empowerment, FIND YEAR). To me this definition explains how hard my single mother had to work for a job supporting my brothers and I. This concept is not only a result of low income, but it is also because of the disadvantages of opportunities and gender bias in society (Brady and Krall, 2008). The levels and conditions of poverty in situations affect the choices that a woman must make. These choices include healthy living and the quality of life that influences how a person enjoys being free. Women’s increase in the portion of poverty is related to the high rates of single mother households. All of these factors influence how the term feminization of poverty is controversial and has been defined i...
Women are more educated now than they have ever been, but even women who are university graduates are earning less than men. Frenette and Coulombe reached the conclusion that this was often due to their degrees being in gendered fields of study, such as the arts and humanities (as cited in Gaszo, 2010, p. 224) Women also tend to work in fields associated with lower pay, which includes service and sales work (Gaszo, 2010). In the garment industry, women, especially immigrants and women who work at home, are routinely taken advantage of by companies such as Wal-Mart and paid far too little (Ng, 2006).
According to Maguire (1995:1), “The inequality between the sexes is one of the most intractable features of human culture.”Frankly, it is undeniable that gender inequality exists in every part of the world. Macionis (2006:252) also admits that “In most aspects, men are still in charge.” Nowadays, women keep on fighting for their right, urging for equal opportunity and fair treatment. Gender stratification, which is the unequal distribution of wealth, power, and privilege between men and women, seems to be narrowed, but it actually remains its existence to some extends. (Macionis, John. J. 2006: 256)
The opportunities available to women in the market are not as diverse as those presented to men. Still, the construct of gender ideology influences how employers undertake economic decisions, and that is why companies still have jobs labelled as “men’s work” and occupations categorized as “women’s work.” Indeed, the pervasiveness of gender differences in labor markets is undeniably true, specifically with respect to salary gap between men and women, occupational gender segregation of men and women, and the challenge that women face in terms of juggling their time and attention between their career and family life. There is no denying that the salary of men is far more than that of women’s. In the Great Britain (and other parts of the globe), there are pieces of evidence which suggest that gendered practices of participation in the labor force still have significant impact on the economic security level that men and women develop over the course of their lives (Warren 606).
The role women play in today’s society is a drastic change from the previous role. Women used to be confined to the superiority of the man. Physically, mentally, and emotionally abused, belittled, embarrassed, and silenced. These are just a few examples of the emotion from the isolated treatment of the past. A woman’s role in today’s society is more valued than ever before.
A women's role has changed tremendously and is making its greatest impact in our society today. Many years ago, women's contribution to society was limited and controlled by men. Women are standing tall and are playing a major role in many important areas. Women's role has changed at an accelerating rate and have part in areas such as Politics, Professional Training Jobs, Medicine,Business and Law. Formerly they were not part of any political matter, but they have advanced in many aspects. For example, women have attained power and have been growing in political office.
Women’s subordination within the labour market is seen by Marxist feminists as suiting the needs of capitalism as women are considered a ‘reserve army of labour’ as they are a more disposable part of the workforce. According to Beechey (1986) women are a cheap ‘reserve army of labour’ that are brought in during economic booms but then thrown out during slumps. Women are often not members of trade unions and are prepared to work for less money as their wage could be a second income. This benefits capitalism as a group of unemployed people looking for work creates competition and exploitation. Employers are given an advantage which allows them to reduce wages and increase the rate of exploitation. Benston (1972) supports this as women are used to benefitting the operation of the capitalist economy by carrying out unprepared work in the home. This proves that patriarchy dominates women which leads to women’s subordination. Hartmann (1981) believes that patriarchy and the economy both play a crucial role in explaining and understanding gender inequality. Historically, men have controlled women especially by control of labour power. This can come through legislation that operates economically to the benefit of men, for example Maternity and Paternity Rights. This proves that patriarchy and economics together explains gender inequality. However, Walby (1986) argues that women staying at home can actually harm capitalism because if women were to compete for jobs with men this would lower wages and increase profits. Women who earn also have superior spending power which would boost the economy and benefit