Poverty through a Gender Lens: Evidence and Policy Review on Gender and Poverty

(2014) - Fran Bennett

Journal: Joseph Rowntree Foundation
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Tags:: #paper #NCDS #Gender #Unemployment
Cite Key:: [@Bennett2014]

Abstract

This review forms part of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s programme to develop a set of evidence-based anti-poverty strategies for the UK. The remit was to identify and analyse evidence on the links between gender and poverty, and possible reasons for them; and to examine the impact on these links of specific policies and overall policy approaches. On the basis of the findings, the review was to make recommendations for gender-oriented measures to prevent and tackle poverty linked to gender and highlight any gaps in the evidence base. The review did not cover sexual orientation or family structure, as these were the subjects of separate reviews. Based on a rigorous and reflective review of the evidence, this report maximises the knowledge available from existing studies and evaluations. But it also argues that very few of these have focused in practice on the links between gender and poverty; and that analytical methods need to be further developed, in order to disentangle these links more fully and investigate the gender impact of policies affecting poverty or the risk of poverty

Notes

“Taking a snapshot, women in the UK are slightly more likely than men to be in poverty, measured as living in a household on relative low income.” (Bennett, 2014, p. 7)

“More boys are excluded from school; more are in care; and far more boys than girls are in young offender institutions. However, girls make up the majority of young people not in employment, education or training, many because of caring for others.” (Bennett, 2014, p. 7)

“The rate of poverty among ethnic minority women in the UK is much higher than among White women, especially for Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. There is a similar pattern, but lower rates, for ethnic minority men” (Bennett, 2014, p. 7)

“In terms of the labour market, the acquisition of education and skills, and labour market engagement, are affected by gender. Part-time work and low pay are more prevalent among women, as a result of both gender discrimination and constraints due to caring, though some men are experiencing increasing difficulties in employment” (Bennett, 2014, p. 8)