Alive and kicking: Women's and men's responses to poverty and globalisation in the UK

Abstract

Globalisation is a process that affects people in the North as well as the South. Its negative effects are felt by people living in poverty in wealthier countries, as well as by those living in poorer ones. Drawing on experience from the work of Oxfam's UK Poverty Programme, this article explores some aspects of how changing labour markets affect men and women living in poverty in the UK. People's sex is a key determinant of who is poor. Women and men have different experiences of poverty, different livelihood options, and different potential routes out of poverty. Government attempts to eliminate poverty, whilst laudable and to some extent successful, have been hampered by the gendered complexities of poverty.