Poor Women in Rich Countries The Feminization of Poverty Over the Life Course

by Goldberg, Gertrude Schaffner

• ISBN13: 9780195314304
• ISBN10: 0195314301
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-11-19
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The first book to study women's poverty over the life course, this wide-ranging collection focuses on the economic condition of single mothers and single elderly women--while also considering partnered women and immigrants--in eight wealthy but diverse countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In a rich analysis of labor market and social welfare sectors, Gertrude Schaffner Goldberg and a team of outstanding international contributors conclude that both living-wage employment and government provision of adequate benefits and services are necessary if lone women are to achieve a socially acceptable living standard. Taken together, the chapters extend a feminist critique of welfare state theories and chart nations' disparate progress against poverty -- probing, for instance, how Sweden emerged a leader in the prevention of women's poverty while the United States continues to lag. By identifying the social and economic policies that enable women to live independently, Poor Women in Rich Countries provides nothing less than a blueprint for abolishing women's poverty.

Author Biography

Gertrude Schaffner Goldberg, DSW, is Professor of Social Policy and Director, Ph.D. Program in Social Work, Adelphi University.

Table of Contents

Contributors	p. xi
Revisiting the Feminization of Poverty in Cross-National Perspective	p. 3
Sweden: The Feminization of Poverty?	p. 28
Feminization of Poverty in France: A Latent Issue	p. 61
Germany: Poverty as a Risk for Women Deviating from the Male Breadwinner Norm	p. 94
The United Kingdom: The Feminization of Poverty?	p. 121
Women's Poverty in Canada: Cross-Currents in an Ebbing Tide	p. 151
The Italian Case	p. 174
Feminization of Poverty in Japan: A Special Case?	p. 202
Feminization of Poverty in the United States: Any Surprises?	p. 230
Summary, Synthesis, and Conclusions, Part 1: The Poverty of Lone Women, Their Diversity, and Income Sources	p. 266
Summary, Synthesis, and Conclusions, Part 2: Government Policies for Lone Women	p. 301
Index	p. 331
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