| Resumen: |
The majority of the world’s population now live in urban centres, which will also absorb virtually
all population growth in the next century. Urbanisation involves major shifts in the ways people
work and live, and offers unprecedented opportunities for improved standards of living, higher
life expectancy and higher literacy levels, as well as better environmental sustainability and a
more efficient use of increasingly scarce natural resources. For women, urbanisation is
associated with greater access to employment opportunities, lower fertility levels and increased
independence. However, urbanisation does not necessarily result in a more equitable
distribution of wealth and wellbeing. In many low and middle income nations, urban poverty is
growing compared to rural poverty.
Specific aspects differentiate urban poverty from rural poverty. While urban residents are more
dependent on cash incomes to meet their essential needs, income poverty is compounded by
inadequate and expensive accommodation, limited access to basic infrastructure and services,
exposure to environmental hazards and high rates of crime and violence. This gives urban
poverty a distinctive gendered dimension as it puts a disproportionate burden on those
members of communities and households who are responsible for unpaid carework such as
cleaning, cooking and looking after children, the sick and the elderly. At the same time, cashbased
urban economies mean that poor women are compelled, often from a very young age, to
also engage in paid activities. In many instances this involves work in the lowest-paid formal
and informal sector activities which, at times of economic crises, require increasingly long hours
for the same income. Combined with cuts in the public provision of services, higher costs for
food, water and transport, efforts to balance paid work and unpaid carework take a growing toll
on women. A gendered perspective of urban poverty reveals the significance of non-income
dimensions such as time poverty. It also highlights fundamental issues of equality and social
justice by showing how women’s unequal position in the urban labour market, their limited ability
to secure assets independently from male relatives and their greater exposure to violence. |
