Analyzing the Impact of Poverty on Hispanic Women in the United States

This report examines the pervasive issue of poverty among Hispanic women in the United States. It highlights that poverty is not evenly distributed, with Hispanic women experiencing a significantly higher poverty rate compared to the national average. The study delves into the factors contributing to this disparity, including lower education levels and wage gaps resulting from structural barriers and discrimination within the labor market. The report further explores the impact of poverty across different life stages, from early adulthood to later years, and discusses how it affects access to education, employment opportunities, healthcare, and overall well-being. It also references the cumulative disadvantage theory to explain how systemic inequalities perpetuate poverty for Hispanic women, ultimately affecting their families and communities.

Running head: POVERTY OF HISPANIC WOMEN IN UNITED STATES
Poverty of Hispanic women in United States
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author note

2POVERTY OF HISPANIC WOMEN IN UNITED STATES
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Discussion..................................................................................................................................4
Poverty of Hispanic women in United States........................................................................4
Effect of poverty in the different adulthood phase.................................................................5
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................7
References..................................................................................................................................8

3POVERTY OF HISPANIC WOMEN IN UNITED STATES
Introduction
U.S Census have estimated that 13.4 percent of the Americans and around 42 million
people were living below the poverty line in the year 2017. The poverty is not distributed in
an even manner across United States and it is dependent on race, gender along with social
status of a person. There are some groups that have more chances of experiencing the poverty
when compared to average American. There are 12.2 percent of the men within United States
who have to suffer on account of poverty and poverty rate for the women have been found to
be 14.5 percent. There exist 19.4 percent of the Hispanic population who have to suffer from
the brunt of the poverty which is above nationwide poverty i.e. 13.4 percent poverty rate for
the Americans (Census.gov., 2020). The relatively lower education level along with their
earnings are the significant factors that deteriorates the condition of the Hispanic women
within the framework of the United States. This paper discusses about problem of the poverty
for Hispanic female population within the framework of United States. This paper talks about
effect of the poverty in the various phases of the adulthood.
Research Question
How does poverty affect the Hispanic women in the United States?

4POVERTY OF HISPANIC WOMEN IN UNITED STATES
Discussion
Poverty of Hispanic women in United States
The poverty rates have been found to vary among the adult women that have an
influence on the condition of their living in the society. The Hispanic women have the 24 %
poverty rate and poverty for white women have been found to be the lowest in the society.
The poverty rate for the women have been found to be higher than the men and greatest
difference have been found in relation to Hispanic women and the men in United States
(Damaske, Bratter & Frech, 2017). Among the Hispanic women, the Honduran along with
the Guatemalan have been found to have highest poverty rate that affects their living
condition in the society. The differences in the levels of education corresponds to the
disparities in the poverty rates among the racial along with the ethnic groups (Usatoday.com.,
2020). The wage gap exists on account of the structural barriers in the society which reduces
the expected earnings of the Hispanic women. The Hispanic women have to settle down in
the lower-paying occupations along with the industries that comprises their position within
the United States. The Hispanic women are deprived from the opportunities in the labour
market that makes their families face the worst economic outcomes. US population that have
been identified as the Hispanic have grown from the 9.6 million in the year 1970 to the 57.5
million in the year 2016 that makes up second-largest ethnic group after the whites
(Statusofwomendata.org., 2020). The wage gap that exists between the Hispanic workers
who are of the second generation and the white workers have been found to be narrower
when compared to first-generation Hispanic and the white workers. Wage gap that is faced by
the Hispanic women have been found to be intersectional which is product of the group-based
discrimination along with the inequlaities that has an effect on the women.

5POVERTY OF HISPANIC WOMEN IN UNITED STATES
The age along with the family structure plays a crucial role in the labour force
participation of women along with the employment opportunities. It have been found out with
the help of the research that the Hispanic women work slightly less when compared to the
white women but they earn considerable less that makes them suffer from the consequences
of the abject poverty in United States. On the basis of the citizenship status, it have been
found that the native-born citizens have to face lowest wage gaps and on the other hand the
foreign born non-citizens have to face largest amount of the wage gap (Equitablegrowth.org.,
2020). The Hispanic women have to face intersectional structural barriers that create the way
for the reduced wages for the Hispanic women. There are many women in United States who
are breadwinners of their families and their opportunity within US labour market can be said
to be crucial for their well-being within the community.
Effect of poverty in the different adulthood phase
The Hispanic women have to face the consequences of the poverty and this is
manifested in the various kinds of stages of the adulthood. The Hispanic women are
impoverished and this makes the women in the stages of the early adulthood suffer from
various kinds of ailments and the disorders. They are deprived of the proper food along with
the nutrition that deteriorates the condition of living of the Hispanic women in the phase of
the early adulthood (Tucker & Lowell, 2016). They do not get the educational opportunities
and hence they have been found to earn less when compared to the other sections of the
population of United States.

6POVERTY OF HISPANIC WOMEN IN UNITED STATES
They find the employment within the agricultural jobs on the industrial farms and in the meat
processing plants. They have to face the strained circumstances in their life on account of the
dire circumstances present in their life. The children of the Hispanic women cannot excel in
the school as their homes have been found to be overcrowded and the transportation facilities
are of limited nature (Pruitt et al., 2016). The Hispanic women who are stricken with the
poverty cannot afford the child care that leaves a bad impact on the children.
The aging people of the colour have more chances of experiencing the poverty when
compared to the white Americans. The social security have been found to play a crucial role
for raising income of a large number of people of the colour above poverty line (Merton,
1968). The Hispanic women in the stage of the middle adulthood does not receive the private
retirement benefits that has a detrimental effect on their life. They do not get the facility of
the asset income like the interest on the bank accounts along with the investments that creates
difficulties for them in the phase of the late adulthood (Glass et al., 2017). They do not have
the means that can help them in addressing the physical along with the mental disorders in the
later stage of their life.
Cumulative Disadvantage theory helps in the systematic explanation of the
development of equality in the society. There are some people who have more disadvantages
in their life when compared to the advantages that has an influence on quality of the life of
the societies along with the individuals (Merton, 1988). The social systems that the Hispanic
women have to face in the United States makes them disadvantaged in the society (Milli et
al., 2017). The educational opportunities for the Hispanic women are limited that creates the
way for their employment in the low-paying jobs. They earn significantly less when
compared to the white Americans that is instrumental in deteriorating their condition of life.
They have to face from the problem of the food insecurity that has a bad effect on their life
(Semega, Fontenot & Kollar, 2017).

7POVERTY OF HISPANIC WOMEN IN UNITED STATES
Conclusion
Poverty within United States is distributed unevenly which is dependent on the factors
of social status, gender and that of race. Hispanic women have been found to have 24 %
poverty rate which is much greater when compared to the white women in the American
society. They do not get opportunities within framework of labour market which makes the
families suffer from worst economic outcome. Hispanic women are subjected to the poverty
that becomes evident in different stages of adulthood. Hispanic women have been found to be
impoverished that makes them suffer from different kinds of the ailments in their life.

8POVERTY OF HISPANIC WOMEN IN UNITED STATES
References
Census.gov. (2020). Hispanic Poverty Rate Hit an All-Time Low in 2017. Retrieved 19
February 2020, from https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2019/02/hispanic-
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Damaske, S., Bratter, J. L., & Frech, A. (2017). Single mother families and employment,
race, and poverty in changing economic times. Social science research, 62, 120-133.
Equitablegrowth.org. (2020). The intersectional wage gaps faced by Latina women in the
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the-united-states/
Glass, J. E., Rathouz, P. J., Gattis, M., Joo, Y. S., Nelson, J. C., & Williams, E. C. (2017).
Intersections of poverty, race/ethnicity, and sex: Alcohol consumption and adverse
outcomes in the United States. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 52(5),
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Merton, R. K. (1968). The Matthew effect in science: The reward and communication
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Merton, R. K. (1988). The Matthew effect in science, II: Cumulative advantage and the
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Pruitt, S. L., Tiro, J. A., Xuan, L., & Lee, S. J. C. (2016). Hispanic and immigrant paradoxes
in US breast cancer mortality: impact of neighborhood poverty and hispanic

9POVERTY OF HISPANIC WOMEN IN UNITED STATES
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Semega, J. L., Fontenot, K. R., & Kollar, M. A. (2017). Income and poverty in the United
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opportunity-full-section/#Poverty%20by%20Race%20and%20Ethnicity
Tucker, J., & Lowell, C. (2016). National snapshot: Poverty among women & families,
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