According to statistics in America, about 70 percent of the populations of those who are poor are women and children with mostly single mothers facing the highest risk. Poverty rates vary across the races with the women of color such as the black and Latinas having the highest poverty rate. Native women such as the Asian and the non-Hispanic poverty are also trapped in poverty.
About 30 percent of single mothers in America are living in poverty and acting as breadwinners in their families. Women of age and young girls compared to older men and boys are likely to be raised in families rocked with poverty. Women and children are trapped in poverty in the suburbs due to poor education, rising unemployment rates and the effect of the recession that the suburbs still experience. The suburbs are underfunded, and few governmental projects are undertaken to help the populace over there. Poverty in the suburbs has been exacerbated by the fact the people and the government tend to believe that the urban areas are most affected by poverty than the inner cities hence limited social assistance programs are channeled to them. The American poverty is no longer an urban problem but has permeated the inner cities too.
Most people who live in the inner cities, especially women, have low-income jobs and the rise in poverty in the suburb has been attributed to lack of infrastructures and safety-net supports to help the growing population of the poor people over there. The suburbs do not easily access social services hence the isolation regarding receiving safety net supports. The problem of finding affordable homes in the suburbs has made it impossible for the low-income families to find better housing since most of the houses were built by developers who were providing better housings a decade ago for the growing family population.
Poverty among women and mothers are contributed by some societal issues and factors facing them. Gender socialization considers women to be the custodian of children and to take care of them than fathers. Women are heaped with the responsibility of childcare especially in the absence of the father figure. A vivid case can be seen in men of color when the male partner is incarcerated. Pregnancy and the associated cost that comes with it due to a decrease in work opportunities for women. Family responsibilities lead women to sacrifice work to take care of their families. The burden of pregnancy makes women to take leave from work to follow the birth of the unborn child.
The pay inequality that exists between women and men regardless of them having the same job grade also contributes to poverty among women. Women are paid less than men and sometimes are they burdened with doing unpaid chores such as taking care of a sick family member, cleaning of the house and other household chores.
Domestic violence and sexual abuse also risk the chances of most women leaving their jobs, feeling homeless and suffering mental problems. Victims of domestic violence are sometimes forced to leave their jobs to seek medical care which might put their jobs in jeopardy. Sexual abuse, especially in the office, risks the employability of women with some of them being afraid of reporting to work.
Personal Opinion
Efforts should be channeled to help women especially those of color and from poor inner cities to overcome challenges that come with being a woman and to alleviate them from poverty by giving them more opportunities regarding access to jobs.
