How does equality relate to poverty alleviation?
Gender equality is an essential part of poverty alleviation. There are more poor women in the world than poor men.
• Women often have to eat the leftovers of meals;
• Most do not have legal or traditional rights to land;
• Women are more likely not to visit hospitals or clinics when they are ill;
• Pregnancy and childbearing carries heavy risks for women unable to access trained support;
• Women are more likely to care for ill family members;
• They are vulnerable to rape;
• In countries at war they may become civilian casualties;
• Women are increasingly working with unsafe chemicals and technologies;
• They are less likely to be represented in government.
Microcredit: Strong families are those in which women make a full contribution.
Households headed by women often lack representation on local decision-making bodies that distribute resources. Women heads of household may not even be allowed to do essential things, like ploughing land, because of cultural taboos. So development projects may focus on them and support them to gain a voice in the community.
But there is also good evidence that if gender inequality exists within a male headed household, it is more likely to continue to be poor.
If all family members, including women, are permitted to pool their skills and knowledge to make genuinely joint decisions on livelihoods and family size, it is more likely that a family will stay together, survive poverty, and move on to better times.
Source: Oxfam
Microcredit: Strong families are those in which women make a full contribution.