Women and poverty Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Women and poverty - Research Paper Example Statistics constantly brings in the fact that women are more likely to be poor than men. In fact, women are more susceptible and more exposed to hunger because of the universal subordination and gender discrimination they contend with in education, healthcare, employment, and in controlling resources and political authority. Although violence against women is existent across all economic groups, women who are suffering from poverty experience it more frequently and they have less possessions or means with which to deal with the situation. Poverty among women is a global truth that reveals itself differently from one country to another; nevertheless, the factors and figures in global gender discrimination are blindingly comparable: gender disparities in wages, work-related discrimination, dangerous employment conditions, and uneven necessities in household and childhood care among others. Over the last few decades, studies on the explosion of households supervised by females and the s tudies into the societal influences and gender-specific consequences of structural adjustment policies have brought about the increased awareness on what is considered to be a â€Å"feminization of poverty† (Moghadam 2). This is to say that a mounting percentage of the world’s poor population are women. ... The Causes of Poverty among Women Violence According to various studies, a great majority of women are victims of human trafficking that is manifested in various forms such as prostitution, which is considered to be the most common and widespread form of human trafficking (UNICEF 11). Women involved in this kind of activity do this for survival and as a response to their economic despondency. Worsening of living conditions usually forces children to quit school in order to help the family survive, placing them susceptible to exploitation and violence. For instance, some young girls in Zimbabwe are trading sex in exchange for food for survival due to intensifying poverty (Thomson, â€Å"Zimbabwean Girls Trade Sex for Food†). Violence against women is a global dilemma of endemic quantity. Anywhere in the world today, women represent the main casualties of physical and sexual violence. Greatly entrenched in prejudice and discrimination between genders, violence against women is o ne of the most pervasive forms of violation to human rights. Contrary to the famous belief that violence against women only exist in homes, this violence against women takes various forms: â€Å"domestic violence, sexual abuse and harassment of girls in school, sexual harassment at work, or rape by husbands, strangers, in refugee camps or as a tactic of war† (7). The least effect of domestic violence is reduced efficacy in their jobs. If a woman is more exposed to physical violence, it affects her productivity at work, which can be manifested through excessive absences and poorer efficiency at work. Consequently, this forbids the possibility of receiving salary increases and they will have less chance for promotion; even worse, violence against women could cause women to lose their jobs