The Feminization Of Poverty: Rural Appalachia And Beyond

ASU Author/Contributor (non-ASU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Holly Gallagher (Creator)
Institution
Appalachian State University (ASU )
Web Site: https://library.appstate.edu/
Advisor
Nancy Love

Abstract: Women living in rural Appalachia are faced with a unique set of barriers, causing poverty to impact them differently in comparison to their male counterparts and the nation surrounding them. The notion of women being more harshly affected by poverty is frequently referred to as “the feminization of poverty,” a topic which is further discussed in this research. The feminization of poverty is present for women all around the United States and has been pervasive for centuries. Pervasive hardship is also a characteristic of the Appalachian region, which has historically faced extreme poverty and unemployment rates, along with overall economic instability. The portrayal of these and other problems present in Appalachia have led to societally ingrained stereotypes and assumptions about the region, which this research clarifies and explains. This research primarily focuses on women in rural communities within Appalachia, connecting the feminization of poverty to the exacerbation of rural poverty, raising questions of what policy-based action has been effective in the past, what can we expect for the future, and what the poverty of women in the region says for the United States as a whole.

Additional Information

Publication
Honors Project
Gallagher, H. (2019). The Feminization Of Poverty: Rural Appalachia And Beyond. Unpublished Honors Thesis. Appalachian State University, Boone, NC.
Language: English
Date: 2019
Keywords
female, poverty, Appalachia, inequality, gender

Email this document to