Women, and especially older women, are overrepresented in poverty statistics. Financial vulnerability may lead to financial stress, mental distress, social isolation, ill health and housing insecurity, or even homelessness. There are multiple causes of female poverty, including women’s role as the principal carer for children leading to weaker or severed connections to the labour force which can have long-term impacts on their careers and earning capacity. Relationship breakdown is more likely to lead to poverty for women than for men for these reasons. Financial dependency on a partner may also trap women in bad relationships and make it difficult to escape domestic violence.
Join us at the Public Economics Forum co-hosted by the Melbourne Institute and the Life Course Centre to hear about the latest research and policy ideas, including:
- The impact of separation on income and employment of women (and thus poverty)
- The impact of domestic violence on female poverty
- The role of policy in female poverty
…and to discuss:
- What policies have worked so far to reduce female poverty
- What further policy solutions could work to reduce female poverty
MODERATOR
Ms Victoria Anderson
Deputy Secretary, Commonwealth Treasury
SPEAKERS
Dr Barbara Broadway
Senior Research Fellow, Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research, University of Melbourne; and Life Course Centre
Dr Alice Campbell
Research Fellow, Institute for Social Science Research, University of Queensland; and Life Course Centre
Dr Angela Jackson
Lead Economist, Impact Economics and Policy
