Women and poverty: A gender-sensitive approach

Poverty is not a gender neutral condition as the number of poor women exceeds that concerning men and women and men experience poverty in distinctive ways. This paper discusses the relevance of incorporating a gender perspective in poverty studies and provides a portrait of poverty among women in Portugal. Following a multidimensional concept of poverty, the methodology used comprises a cross-sectional and a dynamic analysis of poverty, using data from ECHP (1995–2001). The results point to the importance of various factors contributing to women's vulnerability to poverty, such as issues related to labor market, lone motherhood, ageing and education.