FALL 2007

By Kathleen Welsh Beveridge

October 17 was World Poverty Day—around the world and in Bucks County.

Although more people have been lifted out of poverty in the last 50 years than in the previous 500, 1.2 billion still subsist on less than $1 per day. Seven out of 10 of the world’s hungry are women and girls, according to the UN World Food Program.

Despite the dramatic advancement of women in recent decades, women are still far more likely than men to be homeless, to live in poverty, to be unemployed or under-employed, to face violence, and to suffer inadequate housing and healthcare. This is true around the world and in Bucks County.

In Bucks County
Though Bucks is one of the richest counties in Pennsylvania, 4.1 percent of residents live below the poverty line ($15,260/year for a family of three) and 23 percent of children in female-headed households live in poverty. The average annual income of a family of three living on public assistance in Bucks County is $5,052, not including food stamps. That’s $2,600 less than the level considered extreme poverty for a family of this size.

The problem isn’t limited to women with young children. In the United States, elderly women are 70 percent more likely to be poor than elderly men, according to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR). And in Bucks County, of the 43,000 women age 65 and older who live here, 9.1 percent live below the poverty level.

From these statistics, it seems obvious that many women are missing out on their equal share of economic opportunity, around the world and here at home. More than two-thirds of the world’s unpaid work is done by women—the equivalent of $11 trillion or almost 50 percent of world GDP, according to a global UNDP study from 1995. In spite of this, women receive only 10 percent of the world’s income and own a mere 1 percent of the means of production.

Even when engaged in paid work, women do not receive equal pay for their effort. According to the IWPR, women in the US earned only 77 cents for every $1 earned by a man in 2005. In Bucks County, the ratio is just 68 cents on the dollar.

Furthermore, 35 percent of American women work too few hours to participate in their company’s retirement savings plan compared with 20 percent of men. Is it any wonder so many of our older women are poor?

Solving the Poverty Puzzle
Women are the missing piece in solving the poverty puzzle. The East Asian economic miracle of unprecedented growth from 1965 to 1990 offers an example of how all elements of the poverty puzzle must fit together. Gender gaps in education were closed, access to family planning was expanded and women were able to delay childbearing and marriage while more work opportunities increased their participation in the labor force. Women’s economic contribution in the region helped reduce poverty and spur growth.

What are the missing pieces of the puzzle here at home? How can we remove the barriers to women’s full and fair participation in the economy? We can combat local poverty by investing in the nonprofit agencies that enhance economic opportunities forwomen, such as those that provide affordable daycare, job training, mentoring programs that expose girls to positive female role models in careers they might never have imagined, and financial literacy programs that give women and girls the knowledge they need to make good financial decisions for themselves and their families.

We can also encourage our legislators at all levels to support initiatives to equalize opportunities for women and girls in the areas of education, health, employment, and participation in public life.

Eradicate Poverty at Home
If fully engaged, women have the potential to eradicate poverty. This work can begin right here at home. Take a moment to envision what our communities would be like if all women in Bucks County worked together to alleviate poverty on behalf of our sisters who bear the brunt of it. Our families would be healthier and happier, our communities would be stronger, and all of our citizens would benefit.

This ideal is what motivates the board members, volunteers, donors, and grantees of the Bucks County Women’s Fund, all agents of social change, to strive toward the elimination of poverty. We invest in women’s lives and girls’ futures to achieve a society that values, respects and supports all women.

In the spirit of World Poverty Day 2007, we invite you to join us and be part of the solution.

Fall 07 Newsletter PDF