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Poverty and intersecting inequalities, including
gender Scottish Universities Insight Institute Seminar Series
University of Aberdeen 26 June 2015Dr. Joan Forbes, University of AberdeenProf. Gaby Weiner, University of Sussex
Workshop overview
•Introduction – aims•BUZZ - two minute•Key ideas: poverty, gender, intersectionality•Social capital theory: relations /connections•Why focus on poverty and children? Some
facts•Poverty and gender: Scotland, UK - on
children•Feminized poverty•BUZZ – two minute•Closing and evaluations
Poverty as a human rights issue
BUZZ – TWO MINUTES
•How can young people’s, especially girls’, experiences and perspectives on poverty help improve policy and practice on access to services and participation?
Key idea (1)
Poverty - Individuals, families and groups in the population can be said to be in poverty when they lack the resources to obtain the type of diet, participate in the activities and have the living conditions and amenities which are customary or at least widely encouraged and approved, in the societies in which they belong (Townsend 1979: 31).
Key idea (2)Gender: concerns the social attributes and opportunities
associated with being male and female, the relationships between women and men and girls and boys...
is socially constructed, learned through the socialization processes, is context and time specific and IS CHANGEABLE.
determines what is expected, allowed and valued in a given context, e.g. in decision- making, responsibilities assigned, activities undertaken, and access to and control over resources; and
is part of the broader sociocultural context which includes class, race, poverty level, ethnic group and age
(UNOCHA 2012)
Key Idea (3)
The concept of social intersectionality grasps the interlocking nature of social categories such as gender, social class, age, ethnicity, sexuality, disability, and their intricate and diverse effects in/for the reproduction of identities, social categories and inequalities – including economic inequality and poverty (Crenshaw 1991).
Framing theory - forms of social capital –
1. Bonding (networks, norms & trust) – Connections ONLY with family members or ‘people like us’, that tend to be inward looking – support and actions towards own social group and exclusive of others. Strong in-group relations may operate to exclude.
2. Bridging(networks, norms & trust) – Where children and their families link to and participate in more diverse social groups, institutions & organisations with people from a broader social spectrum. Relations reach out to people in groups, institutions and services across social intersections.
3. Linking (networks, norms & trust) – Where relations support individuals’ connection to the right person, up and down, an/another institutional, service or organisational hierarchy.
Getting connected: a social capital approach
Social capital points to how community and societal connections can reduce health and other inequalities for young Scots living in poverty. For example, bridging and linking forms of social capital help young Scots to ‘take advantage of the services provided’, build social connectedness and thereby develop ‘community capacity, resilience and autonomy.
Establishing such connections should be a key objective of future public service reform’ (SP 2015: 19).
Child poverty in Aberdeen City and Shire (Figures: End Child Poverty, 2014)
Percentage of children in poverty, Oct 2014
Figures – after housing costs (AHC)
Aberdeen City•18.00%
Aberdeenshire •14.00%
Angus – 20%Dundee City – 28%Edinburgh – 21%Glasgow – 33%Highland – 19%Moray – 18%Orkney – 14%Shetland Isles 10%
Impact of poverty on children
• Impact on education- early years gap- risk of underachivement at
school- risk of leaving school early,
with no qualifications and as NEET
• Impact on health and well-being
- higher risk of poor health, including mental health- Risky behaviours
• Impact on access to opportunities
6-13 months in problem solving
Poverty and gender in Scotland
64% of low paid workers in Scotland are women, and 40% are women working part time. We know that poverty, and therefore low pay, is gendered. Women in general have less access to income, resources and assets than their male counterparts.
Scottish Living Wage, 2015
In Scotland, women tend to be employed in traditionally female sectors - cleaning, caring, catering, clerical and retail work. These jobs are in the lowest paid of all industries … low status, …little career development. Indeed, this is reflected in the under-representation of women at senior levels across almost all industries.
Poverty and gender in the UKResearch by The Fawcett Society found that there are now almost twice as many women working in low paid, low status, insecure jobs than before the 2008 recession. 1 in 2 of low paid female workers report they feel worse off financially than they did five years ago, with 1 in 10 taking out a pay day loan in the last 12 months. These regressions have resulted in the gender pay gap increasing for the first time in five years.
Scottish Living Wage, 2015
Not only are women more likely to be paid poverty wages, they are more likely to have been affected by the on-going welfare reform measures. Engender report that since 2010, 81% of the £14.9 billion of cuts to benefits, tax credits, pay and pensions have been taken from women’s incomes.
Poverty and gender in the UK – the effects on children
Poverty for women – feminized poverty –
‘has a knock-on effect on child poverty, as 95% of lone parents are women. If the sole working adult in the household is reliant on poverty pay, the whole family suffers. By lifting women out of poverty, we bring their children with them’.Scottish Living Wage, 2015
Feminized poverty (1) (UN Women 2015a, 2015b; UN Women WEF May2015)
• UN Women regard education as .. the only way to turn the youth demographic dividend into the development of nations and to make an attempt to end intergenerational poverty.
• Increasing the share of household income controlled by women, either through their own earnings or cash transfers, changes spending in ways that benefit children.
• For every one additional year of education for women…, child mortality decreased by 9.5%.
• In the EU 25% of women report care and family responsibilities as the direct reason for non participation in the labour force (3% of men).
BUZZ – Two minutes
On reflection – are social capital connections (bonding, bridging, linking in different networks, norms, and trust relations) or LACK of social capital an issue for girls and women?
Feminized poverty (2)
• 66% of the world’s illiterate adults are women. • Where public services are missing – healthcare &
care for children and the old– the deficit is met primarily by women and girls. • Poor infrastructure impacts the retention of
adolescent girls in education.• Globally, women do nearly 2.5x more unpaid care
and domestic work than men - directly impacting women’s capacity to access education and training.
• Discrimination for women and girls is intersecting and cumulative. The sheer number of girls and women affected calls for action now.
UN Women advocate change on the unequal distribution of power (social capital), resources and opportunities. Our social capital (power resources and relations) review advocates:
Free, equal access and participation in arts, culture and heritage constitute a right for all young Scots.
An inclusive equal approach to sport – strengthens access, participation, sporting achievement, health, well-being and resilience for all. (Institutionalized gender difference (lesser female capacity) in sport/PE constrains access /participation for girls in poverty and other intersections).
Equal access to services & social participation – rebalancing social capital (power) relations at all levels: policy/governance; institutional practices; individuals’ knowledge and agency – will challenge current norms and status quo on ‘poverty, gender, and rights to access & participation’ – rather than pursuing a non-existent single ‘magic bullet’ solution.
Child poverty and gendered poverty – Ending it
• Child poverty [related to gender poverty] reaches into our communities, even those areas generally regarded as well off.
• Children are suffering - of parents [viz. single mothers] who are struggling to make a living – and missing out on the essentials of a decent childhood
• Poverty ruins childhoods and reduces life chances. Failing to invest in [mothers and] children is a false economy… child poverty costs the country £29bn each year ...
• There is a need for a clear roadmap aimed at ending [gender based] child poverty which includes the additional actions needed [viz. to address issues of gender] and the measures by which progress will be tracked.
(End Child Poverty, 2013)
References• Bourdieu, P. (1986) The Forms of Capital. In Richardson J.G. (ed) Handbook
of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education. New York: Greenwood. Pp241-258.
• Crenshaw, K. (1991) Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics and violence against women of colour. Stanford Law Review, 43.6, 1241-1299.
• Forbes, J. & Weiner, G. (forthcoming) Young Scots and Inequalities, including poverty and gender: A review applying social capital and intersectionalities. Under consideration for publication.
• Forbes, J. & Weiner, G. (2008) Understated powerhouses: Scottish independent schools, their characteristics and their capitals. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 29, 509-525.
• Forbes, J., Ohrn, E. & Weiner, E. (2011) Slippage and/or symbolism: Gender policy and educational governance in Scotland and Sweden. Gender and Education, 23, 761-776.
• Forbes, J., Sime, D., McCartney, E., Graham, A., Valyo, A., McDiarmid, C. & Weiner, G. (2015) Poverty and children’s access to services and social participation. Glasgow: Scottish Universities Insight Institute.
• Sime, D., Forbes, J. & Lerpiniere, J. (2015) Poverty and children’s education. Glasgow: Scottish Universities Insight Institute.
References• [SP] Scottish Parliament (2015) Health and Sport Committee: Report on
Health Inequalities. SP Paper 637. Pub. 5 January 2015. Edinburgh: APS Scottish Parliament Publications.
• Townsend, P. (1979) Poverty in the United Kingdom. London: Allan Lane.
• UN Women (2015a) Progress of the World’s Women 2015-16 Report. Retrieved 30 May 2015 from: http://progress.unwomen.org/en/2015/
• UN Women (2015b) Facts and Figures: Economic Empowerment. Retrieved 30 May 2015 from: www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/economic-empowerment/facts-and-figures
• UN World Education Forum (2015) Opening remarks by UN Women Executive Director, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. Incheon: Korea. 19 May 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2015 from: http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2015/5/korea-wef-opening-remarks
• UNOCHA (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs) (2012) Gender Toolkit 2: Gender Definitions and Mandates. Retrieved 30 May 2015 from: https://docs.unocha.org/sites/dms/Documents/GenderToolkit1_2_GenderDefinitionsandMandates.pdf
