Women, health, and poverty: An introduction

by Sarah Payne

It is well known that women live longer than men but will suffer higher levels of illness and poor health during their lifetimes. It is also becoming increasingly well-known that women form the majority of those who are poor in Western societies, as lone mothers, older women, women caring for children in two parent households and as the majority of those who are low earners. Sarah Payne's textbook focuses on these two aspects of women's women's experience of poverty and deprivation; and women's health experience. In particular, she focuses on how the experience of poverty and the threat of poverty affects women's health. Much of the existing research on poverty has often obscured women's experiences and the operation of gender in creating risk factors - similarly, the literature on inequalities in health has not adequately covered the specific experience of women. "Women, Health and Poverty," aims to rectify this by drawing together the arguments about women's poorer health with those concerning women's greater risk of poverty, and assessing the ways in women have shared an experience mediated by gender. The book also explores the relevance of other dimensions of social inequality - such as race, class, age and disability - in relation to gender.

236 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1991