It is estimated that women represent 70% of the world’s poor, a figure that indicates that women bear a disproportionate burden of the world’s poverty. Census figures from 2000 indicated that in Canada women had a poverty rate almost 20% higher than men, earned on average 80% of their salary and experienced higher levels of unemployment. Statistics consistently show that women are more likely than men to be poor and at risk of hunger because of the systematic discrimination they face in education, health care, employment and control of assets. The implications of poverty for women are wide ranging and millions of women are frequently left without even basic rights such as access to clean drinking water, sanitation, medical care and decent employment. Being poor also mean that women have very little protection from violence and that they have no role in decision-making.

It is, therefore, imperative that all poverty alleviation programmes and development plans whether being undertaken by national governments or inter-governmental bodies are gender-sensitive. This means recognising that women stand at the crossroads between production and reproduction, between economic activity and the care of human being, and between economic growth and human development. They are workers in both spheres – those most responsible and therefore with most at stake, those who suffer most when the two spheres meet at cross-purposes, and those most sensitive to the need for better integration between the two. (Gita Sen).

WACC believes that poverty includes communication poverty and since 2006 it has been implementing a Communication and Poverty Programme. Strengthening the voices of people living in poverty, improves understandings and actions aimed at addressing poverty, injustice and inequality and can inform and influence public agendas locally, nationally and internationally.

Given the inextricable and complex links between gender and poverty, gender and health, gender and education, and the need to ensure that programmes aimed at reducing poverty incorporate the gender dimension as a key element, we publish here a one pager on how eliminating gender inequalities reduces poverty. It was produced by the International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth, formerly the International Poverty Centre. The Centre is supported by the Poverty Practice, Bureau for Development Policy, UNDP and the Government of Brazil.

With a focus on Latin America, the document gives consideration to which aspects of gender inequalities should be considered priority in the design of public policies that seek to reduce gender inequalities and poverty.

Direct Link to Document: http://www.undp-povertycentre.org/pub/IPCOnePager73.pdf

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