Global Feminization of Poverty: Policies and Advocacy Plan

Running head: GLOBAL FEMINIZATION OF POVERTY
GLOBAL FEMINIZATION OF POVERTY
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1GLOBAL FEMINIZATION OF POVERTY
A. Briefing note:
1. Introduction of the issue
The feminization of poverty can be defined as an increase in the levels of poverty among
women. It is the change that in the levels of poverty biased against women or female headed
households (Anyanwu, 2014). More specifically it is the proportion of poverty between male and
female. According to UN WOMEN, the majority of people belonging from the 1.5 billion people
who are living on 1 dollar a day or even lesser than that are women (Sharpe & Swanson, 2016).
In addition to it, it is important to mention the gap between women and men who are caught in
the cycle of poverty have continued to become wide. The paper aims to discuss the similar issue,
Global feminization of poverty along with a discussion of policies to address this specific global;
problem. The paper will also provide an advocacy to achieve the desired policy solution.
Women across the globe are living in poverty who are denied access to critical resources
including land, credit and inheritance. The issue is among all the people who are living in the
poverty are women. Women are experiencing poverty in much higher rate than men and it is
expected in coming years the future face of poverty is going to be only women (Jacobson, 2018).
The reason women are the faced with poverty in higher rate than men is due to several
factors. The major factor associated with this social issue is the fact that society is deeply
ingrained with gender inequality. The gender inequality for years haveraised various issues that
result today as global feminization of poverty (De Vita, Mari&Poggesi, 2014).Women do not
get the social position and power as men due to which they do not get opportunity to improve
their social status. Women’s labor is often unrewarded as well as unrecognized. Priority is not
given to their healthcare and nutritional needs. Also, they are lacking sufficient access to

2GLOBAL FEMINIZATION OF POVERTY
education and support services. It is not unseen that their participation in decision making at
home as well as in the community goes unnoticed. Domestic violence is the cause for majority of
ill or disabled women population. Home and family reasons are the significant factors that causes
obstacles for the going out of their house for work. Even the small proportion of women who get
the opportunity of seeking job they are the victim of gender inequality (Saunders & Nedelec,
2014).
Poverty and poor health are interlinked across the globe. The poor health of poor people
globally are rooted in political, social and economic injustices. Poor health is both causes and
consequence of poverty. Women living in poverty lack the basic necessities that leads to making
the basic amenities priority. They seek health services less due to lack of economic stability.
Also, lack of education makes them unaware of the importance of health and often they have to
put their health at risk in order to feed their children. All these reasons make them put their
health as a least priority aspect making it a global health equity.
The issues of health inequity is certainly different in developed countries. In developing
countries, there exists a health disparities for several reasons including social inequality as the
major reason. Firstly, the definition of poverty varies between developed and developing
country. Problems such as unequal distribution of income, power and wealth are observed to a
very low or no rate which is highly prominent in the developing countries. This leads to poverty
and marginalized of groups or individual including gender as a factor. Women in the developing
countries are faced with challenges such as education, unemployment, low income and
discrimination, domestic violence and many more in much higher rate than developed countries
that influence their health. Therefore, these problems are experienced differently in developed
countries and developed countries (Piketty&Saez, 2014).