Poverty has always been a problem in our society.

When comes to reduction of poverty, it

is important to use a strategy and having a gender perspective is one of them. In terms of
define poverty, in academic debates, were presented different explanations. Professor
Lucinda Platt define poverty as 'lack of income to ensure a viable living standard ' (2007:
29). In the course of my essay I will present why poverty happens and why poverty
matters. Moreover, I will examine the connection between poverty and gender using
examples of gender inequalities in poverty from the entire world.
For a deeper understanding of the topic, there have been used methodologies in
measuring poverty. In these terms, poverty is divided in relative and absolute deprivation
(Dorothy Wedderrbur, 1974: 15). There are many factors and situations who lead to
poverty. The most common factor in this situation is income poverty. Other factors
suggested by Lucinda Platt are ethnicity, unemployment and deprivation. However, living
on poverty comes with wide effects both on adults and children (Lucinda Platt,1993:145).
Vinod Kumar suggests that 'two in five children were living or on the margin of poverty '
(1993: 145). Poverty matters because it affects '1 billion children worldwide ' according
to UNICEF in 2002. In addition, more than 3 billion people live on poverty while more
than a 1.3 billion people live on extreme poverty. Gender has his own implications in
poverty. Center for American Progress notes that pregnancy affects women's work and
education, poverty rates are higher for women than men and women are paid less than
man even if they have the same qualifications and work the same hours. Sarah Bradshaw
and Brian Linneker consider that society has to ' raise awareness of the important roles
that women play in society and the economy '(2003: 8).

Gender is an important factor in reducing poverty because having a gender perspective

will give the insight of developing equal chances for everyone. In these terms, I can
compare symbolically gender with social class. Society itself has to be aware of social
class so it can offer equality over chances and possibilities.

Reference List
Dorothy Wedderbur (1974) Poverty inequality & class structure. London: Cambridge
University Press
Lucinda Platt (2007) Poverty and ethnicity in the UK. Bristol: The Policy Press
Lucinda Platt (2005) Discovering child poverty. Bristol: The Policy Press
Vinod Kumar (1993) Poverty and inequality in the UK: The effects on children. London:
National Children's Bureau
Sarah Bradshaw and Brian Linneker (2003) Challenging women's poverty. London:
Catholic Institute
Center for American Progress (2017)
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/reports/2008/10/08/5103/the-straight-
facts-on-women-in-poverty/. Accessed: 29 November 2017
DoSomething.org https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-global-poverty.
Accessed: 29 November 2017