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SECTION 1 2 3
EXTREME INEQUALITY
fell only by two percent in the second half of that period – from 92 percent in
2003 to 90 percent in 2009. 212 The same trend is true for many other countries.
The concentration of income and wealth in the hands of men gives them more
decision-making power at the national level, where women usually have little
voice or representation. National laws often take a piecemeal and incoherent
approach to addressing gender inequality; for instance, implementing policies
that increase job opportunities for women, but without policies to prevent low
wages, or to promote adequate working conditions and high-quality childcare.
Discriminatory laws and practices around asset ownership and inheritance
rights prevent women from escaping the bottom of the economic ladder. This
creates a vicious cycle, as women living in poverty are more likely to lack the
legal entitlements, time and political power that they need to increase their
income. Gender discriminatory legislation and the requirements of lending
institutions are additional barriers which exclude women from access to credit.
In its World Development Report 2012, the World Bank noted that women
are more vulnerable to income shocks, such as unemployment or increased
poverty, precisely because they have less economic power. Women tend
to have fewer assets than men, less access to economic opportunities
to deal with sudden changes, and less support through compensation
from government. 214
The recent rapid rise in economic inequality in the majority of countries
therefore represents a serious barrier in the drive to achieve equality
between women and men.
“
In India, the average daily
wage of a male worker
is about two and a
half times that of his
female counterpart. 213
“
ECONOMIC INEQUALITY DRIVES INEQUALITIES
IN HEALTH, EDUCATION AND LIFE CHANCES
The stark reality is that economic status dictates life chances; poorer people
have shorter lives. This is a problem in rich countries and poor countries alike.
In the UK, for instance, men born in the richest part of the country can expect
to live nine years longer than men from the most deprived areas. 215 The rapidly
growing gap between rich and poor in the majority of countries is worrying not
just on its own terms, but because of the way it interacts with other
inequalities and discrimination to hold some people back more than others.
Economic inequality adds new dimensions to old disparities, such as gender,
geography and indigenous rights. In every country, average rates of child
survival, education and access to safe water are significantly higher for men
than women. Women in poor households are far less likely to have prenatal
and antenatal care when they are pregnant and give birth than their wealthier
neighbours. Their children are more likely to be malnourished and many will not
live past the age of five. If they do, they are far less likely to complete primary
education. If they can find employment as adults, they will likely have much
lower incomes than those from higher income groups. This cycle of poverty
and inequality is then transmitted across generations.
“
Things are changing in
South Africa for the worst.
The public schools are
no good. Those in the
government, they are very
rich, the rest of us are poor.
LEONARD KUFEKETA, 39
“
Using the latest national Demographic and Health Surveys, Oxfam has
calculated how poverty interacts with economic and other inequalities
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