POVERTY AMONG WOMEN IN LATIN AMERICA: FEMINIZATION OR OVER-REPRESENTATION?

We discuss four different concepts of feminization of poverty and analyze household survey data to verify if there is an undergoing feminization of poverty in eight Latin American countries, according to each of these concepts. We also verify if our results are sensible to changes in values of poverty lines and to different scenarios of intra- household inequalities. We conclude that women may be over-represented among the poor but there is no clear evidence of a recent and widespread feminization of poverty in the Latin American countries studied. The implication of this conclusion for policymaking in the region is that issues such as achieving the economic autonomy of women are perhaps more important to the egalitarian agenda than the feminization of poverty.

What Do We Mean by ?Feminization of Poverty??

The ?feminization of poverty? is an idea that dates back to the 1970s. It was popularized at the start of the 1990s, not least in research by United Nation agencies. The concept has various meanings, some of which are not entirely consistent with its implicit notion of change. We propose a definition that is in line with many recent studies in the field: the feminization of poverty is a change in poverty levels that is biased against women or female-headed households. (...)What Do We Mean by ?Feminization of Poverty??

Poverty among women in Latin America: Feminization or over-representation?

We propose two different concepts of feminization of poverty and analyze household survey data to verify if there is an ongoing feminization of poverty in eight Latin American countries, according to each of these concepts. We also verify if our results respond to changes in values of poverty lines and to different scenarios of intra-household inequalities, concluding that poverty may be higher among women, but there is no clear evidence of a recent and widespread feminization of poverty in the countries studied.Feminization of poverty, Gender inequalities, Poverty, Female headed households, Latin America

Voice Feminization: Voice Therapy vs. Surgical Intervention: A Systematic Review

Abstract Purpose: Transgender individuals often seek to alter their vocal characteristics. For Male to Female (MtF) transgender individuals, attaining a feminine voice may be particularly challenging. The objective of this systematic review is to determine whether MtF transgender individuals who receive voice feminization therapy alone or Wendler’s Glottoplasty (WG) surgical intervention with subsequent voice therapy yield greater outcomes in frequency and self-perception. Method: A systematic review of the literature was conducted by using PubMed and Ovid to search terms pertaining to voice feminization. The articles were reviewed and appraised by the authors for inclusionary criteria, exclusionary criteria, and quality. Inclusionary criteria included: 1) adult MtF Transgender individuals, 2) pre and post measures of fundamental frequency (fo), 3) post puberty age, 4) measure of perception of femininity, and 5) patients who underwent WG (articles pertaining to surgical intervention only). Results: A total of 82 articles were identified and 12 met inclusionary criteria for this systematic review. Overall, the quality of the studies was moderate. Outcome measures included frequency range and frequency gain. The authors were unable to compare measurements of self-perception and perception of femininity due to the variability in assessments. Conclusions: Patients who opted for surgical intervention experienced a greater increase in fo but a decrease in frequency range. Conversely, patients who participated in voice feminization therapy alone were found to exhibit smaller gains in fo and an increase in frequency range. This implies that both voice feminization therapy and surgical intervention are effective methods for increasing the frequency of voice. Limitations of this research include the subjective nature of self-perception measures, variability in measurements of perception of femininity, and overall limited research regarding this population.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/csdms/1009/thumbnail.jp

Are Women Taking over the Farm in China?

Development practitioners in the West have proclaimed that a ``feminization of agriculture'' is occurring in the developing world. In this paper, I use household survey data collected in rural China to empirically test whether or not women have been doing an increasing amount of farmwork. I find exactly the opposite-- if anything, the proportion of farmwork being done by women is declining over the late 1990s. Furthermore, I analyze the demographic composition of the farm labor force and find that the future feminization of agriculture is unlikely.Women, agriculture, China, farm labor

Are Women Taking over the Farm in China?

Development practitioners in the West have proclaimed that a "feminization of agriculture" is occurring in the developing world. In this paper, I use household survey data collected in rural China to empirically test whether or not women have been doing an increasing amount of farmwork. I find exactly the opposite-- if anything, the proportion of farmwork being done by women is declining over the late 1990s. Furthermore, I analyze the demographic composition of the farm labor force and find that the future feminization of agriculture is unlikely.Women, agriculture, China, farm labor

Women and Food Security in South Asia: Current Issues and Emerging Concerns

food security, gender bias, gender food security, women farmers, female workforce, feminization of poverty, wage

Challenges and changes in gendered poverty: the feminization, de-feminization, and re-feminization of poverty in Latin America

Despite reductions in poverty generally, recent trends in Latin American countries show processes of both a de-feminization and re-feminization of poverty. The latter has occurred despite feminized anti-poverty programmes, most notably conditional cash transfer (CCTs), which target resources to women. We show that methodological differences in what, how, and who is the focus of measurement, may influence patterns of poverty ‘feminization’. We also suggest that feminized policy interventions might in themselves be playing a role in the re-feminization of poverty, not least because the participation of female-headed households may be limited by default if not design. The somewhat paradoxical interactions between the feminization of household headship, the feminization of poverty, and the feminization of anti-poverty programmes, present interesting challenges for redressing gender gaps in poverty within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Developmen

“Care drain”. Explaining bias in theorizing women’s migration

Migrant women are often stereotyped. Some scholars associate the feminization of migration with domestic work and criticize the “care drain” as a new form of imperialism that the First World imposes on the Third World. However, migrant women employed as domestic workers in Northern America and Europe represent only 2% of migrant women worldwide and cannot be seen as characterizing the “feminization of migration”. Why are migrant domestic workers overestimated? This paper explores two possible sources of bias. The first is sampling: conclusions about “care drain” are often generalized from small samples of domestic workers. The second stems from the affect heuristic: imagining children left behind by migrant mothers provokes strong feelings of injustice which trump other considerations. The paper argues that neither source of bias is unavoidable and finds evidence of gender stereotypes in the “care drain” construa

Gender Demographics and Perception in Librarianship

This article is an examination of the history of gender demographics in the field of librarianship. The historic development and subsequent feminization of librarianship continues to influence the gender wage gap and the disproportionate leadership bias in the field today. This article examines the stereotyping of librarians and the cyclical effect of genderizing the profession. Consideration of current trends and data in librarian demographics demonstrates a consistent decrease in gender diversity, accompanied by a troubling lack of women leaders and executives. Additionally, this article explores options for combating the gender perceptions that negatively impact women in library and information science fields, including management and negotiation training in graduate programs, increased emphasis on technological skills, and professional organization advocacy