furthermore any time a poverty threshold expressed in per capita terms is used there is a tendency to underestimate the minimum amount needed to cover the basic needs of those who live alone as is often the case of older persons see box in most of the countries in the region the poverty femininity index is higher than the highest index ratings are in argentina the bolivarian republic of venezuela chile costa rica the dominican republic panama and uruguay where the poverty rate of women is times or more that of men several countries have seen the gap widen between men and women