Poverty Experiences of Single-Mothers in South Africa

Women are disadvantaged in both the formal and informal economy in Africa which exacerbates their vulnerability to poverty. It is widely acknowledged that women earn lower wages than men due to gender discrimination in the labor market. Facing precarious employment and gendered wage inequality, single mother households face persistent vulnerability to poverty even when they are working. A qualitative descriptive design was used to describe the relationship between gender relations, work in the informal economy and the poverty experiences of 16 female-headed families by tracing the strategies which single mothers adopt to break the cycle of poverty in South Africa. Using African feminism, the biographic profiles of the women are presented and three key themes which distilled from the analysis is discussed: surviving on limited resources, parenting challenges and strengths of women in poverty. The discussion of the findings will take into account the profound impact of unequal power relations in the labor market and concludes with some suggestions for practitioners to put in place advocacy interventions to facilitate legislative changes as a way forward to harness the valuable contributions made by single mothers in the informal economy.

Prof. Tanusha Raniga is a lecturer of Social Work at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa. Her research focus is the implications of social protection policy on the lives of the poor and community economic development.

Bitte beachtet, dass diese Veranstaltung eigentlich am 11.06.2021 stattfinden sollte und nun nachgeholt wird.

Über folgenden Link können Sie an der Veranstaltung teilnehmen:

Zoom-Meeting beitreten
https://zoom.us/j/98636060647?pwd=cVdBdXlvNHRzb2RCQitvRHdMdGlqZz09
Meeting-ID: 986 3606 0647
Kenncode: 424418

‍