The Feminization of Poverty: Myth or Reality?

Abstract

The feminization of poverty is a widely discussed concept in the mass media, and in academic circles, which captures the following facts: there are more poor women than poor men, and women are more likely to fall into poverty because of gender-related factors. In this article, I examine the concept's empirical basis and theoretical significance. The data show that poverty among men increased faster than poverty among women during the 1980-81 recession. While the sex composition of the poverty population has remained relatively unchanged since 1966, its age composition has changed: poverty has increased substantially among working men and women aged 18 to 44. Also, the higher proportion of women in the poverty population cannot be considered simply an effect of male privilege; on the contrary, it may be partially accounted for by higher mortality rates among working-class men. Theoretically, I argue that the meaning of these trends cannot be established using only age and sex categories of analysis. The trends document the progressive immiseration of the working class. Younger workers of both sexes today are worse off than older workers. A discussion of poverty purely in terms of the age, sex, or racial/ethnic composition of the poverty population hides the roots of poverty in the mode of production and succeeds in obfuscating the issues, fueling conflict between men and women, young and old, and white and nonwhite. Only by taking into account the class relations that structure people's life chances is it possible to understand the significance of present trends.