Women Poverty and Its Socioeconomic Reflections in Erzurum (Erzurum’da Kadın Yoksulluğu ve Sosyoekonomik Yansımaları)

Poverty, narrowly, is the inability of people to meet basic human needs with their current income. Poverty affects different groups of society in different dimensions. However, empirical studies have shown that women and their children are most affected by poverty. One of the most important reasons behind this result is gender inequality against women. By preventing women from benefiting from education equally, participating in employment, and having better working conditions as high wages, social security rights, etc., gender inequality leads to more impoverishment of women. This study aims to determine the dimensions of women poverty and the reflections of this poverty on both their own and family lives. To accomplish this aim, a survey has been conducted with 200 poor women that are in the first 10% decile according to the distribution of annual equivalized household disposable income in Erzurum. Field research was conducted in the period March-May 2019. According to the results, the women have felt less poor if their husbands work or there is an insured employee in the household. Also, as household income decreases, the women have experienced greater negativities in meeting basic needs (education, health, etc.), and this negativity is also passed down from generation to generation.