Anti poverty intervention

Women in Poverty living in America

Dempsey MillerSWK-S300

Facts about Women in the U.S.

• 1 in 3 American women, 42 million women, plus 28 million children, either live in poverty or are right on the brink of it

• two-thirds of minimum wage workers are women• The average woman is paid 77 cents for every

dollar a man makes, and that figure is much lower for black and Latina women; African American women earn only 64 cents and Hispanic women only 55 cents for every dollar made by a white man.

• Source: Time

Facts cont. • Single motherhood and lack of a college degree are

two of the strongest indicators of poverty.• Although more women have college degrees than

men, women who earned a graduate degree on average earn less than a male who has earned a bachelors degree.

• 60% of low-income women say they believe even if they made all the right choices, “the economy doesn’t work for someone like me” – and they’re not wrong

• Source: Time

The Pink Tax • Manufacturers tend to feminize products and then charge

more for them• Many times these feminized products are also made smaller • Women’s clothes are consistently more expensive; there is

an upcharge for women’s plus size clothes while men’s clothes are the same price if they are plus sized

• Costs of vehicles and repairs are higher for women• Tampon Tax makes sanitary product a large expense for low

income women • Hair cuts and hair products are significantly more expensive

The Pink Tax

Source: Listen Money Matters

Anti-Poverty Strategy• My anti-poverty strategy has 3 main objectives:

workplace reform, eliminating the Pink Tax, and childcare reform. These issues are important to most women, but for women in poverty, these issues can be huge stressors on their lives and finances. These objectives will be handled by state and local governments, but it will be mandatory at the federal level. States will receive funding from the federal government through taxes. Also, there will be a public advocacy campaign addressing the use of contraceptives called “What is Love”, teaching young men and women that not using a condom is not a sign of commitment while wearing a condom demonstrates care for the other person and responsibility.

Anti-Poverty Strategy1. Workplace Reform• Mandatory paid leave and maternity leave • 96% of single mothers say paid leave is the workplace

reform that would help them the most (Time). • America is one of the only industrialized nations

without paid maternity or parental leave. By implementing paid maternity leave, there may be concern with employers not hiring women, but the benefits of paid leave are extremely important, especially for women who are already working.

• Increasing maternity leave has had positive economic benefits for most women in countries where it has been implemented, as shown by a study done in the Netherlands after implementation (Bettendorf).

Anti-Poverty Strategy2. Eliminate the ‘Pink Tax’• Greater regulations on price differences

between men’s and women’s products that are heavily similar

• Subsidize all menstrual products for low-income women (those below the poverty line or just above it)• Less women will stress about their period or

miss work or school because of it, increasing workforce productivity

3. Childcare reform • Increased access to contraceptives (What is Love

campaign): partner with popular condom brands like Trojan to distribute condoms to low income areas

• Continued funding for planned parenthood • Cheaper childcare options in low-income areas,

especially for working women. This can occur as a volunteer opportunity for high schoolers or college students who wish to become teachers or work with children, as they will do so for free.

Anti-Poverty Strategy (cont.)

What is Love? Campaign

• This campaign will use billboards and posters around low income areas with high rates of teen pregnancy to educate about the myth of ‘condom commitment’, or the myth that not using a condom signifies greater commitment. Instead, it will say how using a condom is actually the greater sign of love for your partner, and it can prevent many future economic, physical, and emotional hardships.

Measurement/Results• Both qualitative and quantitative data needed to

determine success of the reforms, i.e. surveys of income and hours worked, and interviews about stress levels, personal life, relationships, etc.

• I created my intervention around a Dutch study measuring the effects of childcare reform on women’s socioeconomic status, women’s income and the number of hours worked were measured. As a result of the reforms, more women were able to work more hours on average, and families reported having better relationships with each other.

• Each individuals experience will be different• Source: Bettendorf

Works CitedAlter, Charlotte. "11 Surprising Facts About Women and Poverty From the Shriver Report." Time. Time Inc., 13 Jan. 2014. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.Bettendorf, Leon JH, Egbert LW Jongen, and Paul Muller. "Childcare subsidies and labour supply—Evidence from a large Dutch reform." Labour Economics 36 (2015): 112-123.Elliot, Candice. "The Pink Tax." Listen Money Matters. Listen Money Matters, 29 Mar. 2015. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.