The causes of women's poverty are complex. In many cases, women living in poverty reflect widespread economic underdevelopment, unemployment, and human suffering throughout a society. Women are afflicted by poverty for unique reasons as well. Women may be impoverished when they are left to raise children alone. Many fully employed women remain poor, confined to low-wage jobs or denied access to the education, credit, and resources needed to advance.
Women make great contributions to their families' well-being.
When both wage-earning and unpaid work are taken into account, it is clear that women provide substantial, primary, or sole economic support to a large proportion of the world's families. In households with two wage-earning parents, the father's income typically exceeds the mother's, yet mothers usually contribute a larger proportion of their income to family needs. At the Copenhagen World Summit for Social Development, the international community agreed that women are pivotal in efforts to address poverty. The 4WCW will build on the Copenhagen agreement by offering an action plan to enhance women's economic self-reliance. Women in the U.S. have progressed in this area.