Poverty The percentage of individuals living in poverty in the U.S. is 13.5% (Proctor et al., 2016). However, poverty is not equally distributed throughout the American population. Women, children, and racial and ethnic minorities experience poverty more often than men, working adults, and White people; individuals with disabilities experience poverty more often than those without current disabilities (Institute on Disability, 2016; Proctor et al., 2016; Tucker & Lowell, 2016; U.S. Census Bureau, 2015). The unequal distribution of poverty across the population reflects the disparities in opportunities these populations experience throughout their lives. Some examples of the difference in opportunities include a disproportionate number of racial and ethnic minorities living in low-income neighborhoods and experiencing insufficient educational opportunities, as well as women continuing to earn less than men (the most current data concludes that women earn 81 cents for every dollar men earn; Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016; Mode, Evans, & Zonderman, 2016). Research shows that the poverty rate in the U.S. is increasing. Healthcare professionals must be aware of data relating to poverty and work to decrease the growing problem of poverty. Poverty is closely connected with poorer mental health in societies across the world (Ridley et al., 2020). Poverty is associated with volatile income and expenditures. Poverty can strain a person’s physical and mental health. Many low- income people work long hours to pay bills and provide for their families. This lifestyle can impose immense stress and reduce a person’s cognitive ability. The resulting worries and uncertainty can exacerbate mental health. Ridley et al. (2020) examine the connection between poverty and mental illness. They note that poor mental health can result from the fear and reality of poverty. “The anticipation of economic shocks, not just their occurrence, may cause mental illness. People living in poverty face substantial uncertainty and income volatility and juggle what are, in effect, complex financial portfolios, often without access to formal insurance… Sustained long-run exposure to stress from managing this volatility may threaten mental health.” Ridley concludes that mental illness could increase a person’s risk of poverty, for example, “by capturing attention, causing excessive rumination and distorting people’s memories and beliefs about their abilities.” Depression, they suggest, may cause people to have diminished belief in their abilities, while anxiety may cause someone to be more risk-averse in the labor market. Women in Poverty More women than men are living in poverty in the U.S. Men who have migrated for employment or to avoid conscripted military work often have left women behind. Migrating across hundreds of miles and rugged terrain is not feasible for women and children. Basic information about women in poverty includes the following (Bleiweis et al., 2020): ● Of the 38.1 million people living in poverty in 2018, 56%, or 21.4 million, were women. ● Nearly 10 million women live in deep poverty, falling below 50% of the federal poverty line. ● The highest poverty rates are experienced by Native American Indian or Alaska Native (AIAN) women, Black women, and Latinas. About one in four AIAN women live in poverty. This is the highest poverty rate among women or men of any racial or ethnic group. Age Aging is a gradual, continuous process of natural change that begins in early adulthood. During early middle age, many bodily functions begin to gradually decline. People do not become old or elderly at any specific age. Traditionally,
● Unmarried mothers have higher poverty rates than married women, with or without children, and unmarried women without children. Nearly 25% of unmarried mothers live below the poverty line. ● Women with disabilities are more likely to live in poverty than both men with disabilities and persons without disabilities. Women with disabilities have a poverty rate of 22.9%, compared to 17.9% for men with disabilities and 11.4% for women without disabilities. Reasons Why Women Live in Poverty. The impact of sexism and racism on society limits women’s employment opportunities. Some of the causes of poverty in women include the following issues. Occupational Segregation into Low-Paying Jobs. Women are disproportionately represented in certain occupations, especially low-paying jobs. This is due, in part, to the perception of gender roles that assume women’s work is low-skilled and undervalued. This is especially true for women of color (Bleiweis et al., 2020). Lack of Work-Family Policies. Issues such as insufficient paid family and medical and earned sick leave impact women’s ability to manage work and caregiving. Childcare is expensive and sometimes hard to access. These issues further compound problems associated with work–family challenges. The coronavirus has exacerbated the caregiving burden on women because of essential school and childcare provider closures, which contribute to job loss among women (Bleiweis et al., 2020). Disability. A disability may cause, as well as be a consequence, poverty. People with disabilities must deal with barriers to employment and lower earnings. Only 16.4% of women with disabilities were employed in 2018, compared with 60.2% without a disability (Bleiweis et al., 2020). Self-Assessment Question 1 Which of the following persons is most likely to live in poverty? a. A woman who self-identifies as Alaska Native. According to new research, 74.7 million people have lost work since the start of the pandemic, with the majority of jobs lost in industries that pay below-average wages. Many who lost work and income are running out of money and savings. In January 2022, some 24 million adults reported experiencing hunger, and more than 6 million said they feared being evicted or foreclosed on in the next two months due to their inability to make housing payments. By contrast, higher-income people have been relatively unscathed economically (United States: Pandemic Impact on People in Poverty, 2022). Living in a stressful state of poverty can worsen mental illness or ignite it. The instability that often accompanies mental illness can also lead to poverty. The cycle continues and grows as more people deal with the pandemic’s physical, financial, and emotional impacts. b. A man who is 45 years of age. c. A married man with two children. d. An unmarried woman without children. COVID-19 and Poverty
age 65 has been designated as the beginning of old age. The U.S. is getting older each decade. Estimates state that there will be almost as many older adults as young people ten years from now. People worldwide are living longer.
EliteLearning.com/Social-Work
Book Code: SWTX1525
Page 6
Powered by FlippingBook