E.M.E.R.G.E. - European Mobility Enabling to Reduce th Ground of Exclusion - European Project hosted by Istituto Sturzo in partnership with ESA and FCASEC

FEMINIZATION OF POVERTY IN EUROPE

A well-known phenomenon in a slightly modified form

mercoledì, July 21st, 2010

2010 is the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion. Poverty and social exclusion are two interconnected, interdependent and extremely complex social phenomena that cannot be comprehensively defined within a whole book, not to mention within a single article. Poverty is the more traditional term, commonly perceived in strictly economic sense, which seems to constantly evolve and include more aspects. Social exclusion is a relatively new concept that has a multidimensional nature, including, again, a focus on the economic status of the individual. Even after recognizing the complexity of the two issues, we still need to admit the priority of the economic aspects in both phenomena. In this line of thinking, we also need to recall another social-economic phenomenon that has been widely discussed at EU level and that is still observed, especially in times of crisis. This phenomenon is directly linked to social exclusion in its definition as “each type of societal disadvantage” and is definitely related to poverty. Formulation of the cause-and-effect links, though, would be far more difficult. This phenomenon is traditionally known as “gender discrimination” and it can also be widely discussed in view of the various aspects of its manifestations. However, having in mind that 2010 is announced the year to fight poverty and social exclusion, let us concentrate on one single, but significant enough, aspect of gender inequality, which has evolved and been defined as a separate phenomenon itself – “feminization of poverty”.

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European Policies for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion

The Role of Minimum Income and Discrimination in the Labour Market

venerdì, May 7th, 2010

The common understanding of the European Union’s wealthiness is that EU is a rich and stable union. On the contrary, according to Eurobarometer statistics there are almost 84 million people live at risk of poverty. There are various definitions of poverty and social exclusion. The most common one is that poverty is the condition of people not having the means to afford basic human needs. There are different levels of poverty in every single country and the poverty level is also different in relation with the economic level of the country. We can define social exclusion as a process that deals with social rupture, detached groups and individuals by preventing them from full and active participation in normal daily life. There are 3 different levels of poverty and all of them have different relation with social exclusion. The first group is poor people who do not have enough money to survive but they are not socially excluded. The second group is people who are poor and also socially excluded but they still have the force to react to their situation. The third one consists of people who are poor, socially excluded and unable to react to their situation (extreme poverty).

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