Gender and Poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean: An Analysis through the Life Cycle

This paper analyzes gender disparities in poverty across the life cycle in Latin America and the Caribbean using harmonized household survey data. Although gender gaps in labor market outcomes are well-documented, gendered poverty disparities have remained understudied. The results reveal a gendered poverty penalty that emerges as women enter their prime productive and reproductive years—a penalty that has increased over the past 15 years. The presence of young children significantly increases the likelihood of poverty in a household. Single-mother households and those with sole or no earners face particularly high vulnerability. To explore the determinants of the gendered poverty penalty, the paper identifies four relevant groups of individuals and applies a Kitagawa-Binder-Oaxaca decomposition. The results indicate that, beyond the presence of children at home and women’s age, unobserved factors (including potential discrimination) are behind most of the gap. These findings emphasize the critical role of household composition and life cycle factors, particularly family arrangements.