“WE’RE NOT A PART OF SOCIETY, WE DON’T HAVE A SAY”: EXCLUSION AS A DETERMINANT OF POOR WOMEN’S HEALTH

Abstract

The association between income distribution and measures of health has been well established such that societies with smaller income differences between rich and poor people have increased longevity (Wilkinson, 1996). While more egalitarian societies tend to have better health, in most developed societies people lower down the social scale have death rates two to four times higher than those nearer the top. Inequities in income distribution and the consequent disparities in health status are particularly problematic for many women, including single mothers, older women, and women of colour. The feminization of poverty is the rapidly increasing proportion of women in the adult poverty population (Doyal, 1995; Fraser, 1987).

Citation

Reid, C. (2003), "“WE’RE NOT A PART OF SOCIETY, WE DON’T HAVE A SAY”: EXCLUSION AS A DETERMINANT OF POOR WOMEN’S HEALTH", Texler Segal, M., Demos, V. and Kronenfeld, J.J. (Ed.) Gender Perspectives on Health and Medicine (Advances in Gender Research, Vol. 7), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 231-279. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1529-2126(03)07007-3