The Feminization of Poverty: Examination of Selected Factors Involving Women and Children

Single mothers and their children are at a distinct disadvantage in American society. These families are five times as likely to live below the poverty level than are married couple families (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1985c). One-third of single mothers and over one-half of their children struggle to exist, officially classified as living below the poverty level. [The poverty threshold for a family of four in 1985 was $10,989 (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1985c)]. Their numbers are increasing; in 1970, single mothers with children under 18 comprised 11.5% of all families; by 1985 they headed 23.2% of all families, or 7,737,000 households (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1985a). As growing numbers of female-headed families slip into poverty, the Reagan administration has chosen to cut back aid to the poor, endorsing the attitude that increased public assistance leads to recipient dependency on the system and welfare fraud. Many taxpayers agree: Despite studies and reports going back twenty years or more, many sincere Americans believe that poor people, in the main, are able-bodied, lazy loafers, and that those 'on welfare' could work but would rather be freeloaders. Such beliefs are largely responsible for one of the most damaging effects of being on public assistance: loss of self-esteem. (Y.W.C.A., 1987, p.14