Women In Poverty In America

Nearly half a century ago, Lyndon Johnson began campaigning the War on Poverty with a vision for a sustained and prosperous economy. Back then, poverty in America was associated with graphic images of substandard wooden shacks and impoverished city alleys. Today, the face of poverty has taken a new shape. In societies imagination, poverty takes the form of hopeless Americans and single mothers frantically treading on a rolling barrel that is headed towards the rivers end. For the enormous amount of women living in this situation, the American dream is dead. Women in poverty can no longer cling to childhood dreams of prosperity and success, but instead are limited to dreams of simply hanging on. Plighted with social economic struggles, stress

Therefor, I cannot speak for these women or directly empathize with the demands of providing for children under immense financial distress. Fortunately, what I can do is apply coursework and readings from this class to social trends and problems. Currently, our society is experiencing a particularly interesting moment that will shape antiquity. Many would persist that there has been a considerable shift in social demographics, citing the success of the LGBT community and the election of an African American president. While these changes may be monumental for these minorities, what is there to be provided for women in poverty? At the forefront of supposed “social change” the U.S. has announced that Harriet Tubman will be featured on the twenty-dollar

With such power, women in poverty and their support organizations can create pressure on leaders and insight change to prioritize political issues. However, “power” in the context of this argument comes as a direct result of education and opportunity. Women are overwhelmingly outnumbered and mistreated in America’s workforce. Women deserve the right to sufficient living wages, not because of some law but because its FAIR. Management often doesn’t offer flexibility to women in consideration of their caregiving. Furthermore, how is it possible that most companies don’t even offer women a paid maternity leave? In revisiting current defining events, the San Francisco 49ers recently became the first team in the NFL to adopt the Rooney Rule, promoting equality and opportunity for women in business positions. As the first team to publicly announce the initiative, the 49ers and the NFL are optimistic that it will become a trend within other organizations. The Rooney Rule imposes that a certain number of potential employees that are interviewed are required to be females. In a man dominated business, similar to the corporate theatre, the Rooney Rule gives rise to the development of women in management positions with the hopes of developing future executives. It is important to point out however; that hiring managers are under no obligation to hire females and can make discriminating decisions as long as it goes unsaid and unpublished. Despite the