women and poverty
Background | Faith Perspective | Take Action | Resources | Programs and Organizations 

The elders of daughter Zion sit on the ground in silence, they have thrown dust on their heads, and put on sackcloth; and the young girls of Jerusalem, have bowed their heads to the ground. (Lamentations 2:10)

Background
As much as poverty is about income level, poverty is also about systematic realities that keep people from breaking out of it. Eradicating poverty is about more than providing opportunities for employment and increased income, although that is important. Families in poverty experience substandard educational opportunities, housing, health care, and nutrition.

Additionally, single mother households have a poverty rate of 29 percent, while male only households have a much lower poverty rate of 14 percent.Women and families often find themselves trapped in systems of historical and current discrimination - such as unequal access to basic education, housing, and health care. If the, often generational, cycle of poverty for women and families is to be broken, systematic discrimination must be dismantled, even as the day-to-day needs of individuals are addressed.

Faith Perspective

From Women's Litany for a Worship Service of Lamentation and Hope. (Go here to read the complete liturgy):

We believe in God who creates women and men as partners in God's image.

To work together in Harmony, respecting and honoring each other.

We believe that we are co-workers with God in creating and preserving life.

We believe in God who took human form to redeem us from fear and prejudice, anger and hatred, greed and selfishness.

We believe in Jesus, who empowered women and outcasts and gives them new life.

We believe in the Spirit, active in our world,
who encourages and nurtures, strengthens and restores us.

We believe in the Spirit who quickens us to be involved in the work of the Kingdom (Reign of God).

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Take Action!

• Visit the Women's Funding Network, and see how you can get involved in initiatives supporting women across the country
• Visit the Women's Ministries of the National Council of Churches, and encourage the growth of young women as leaders in the church
• Visit the Coalition on Human Needs, and track the impact of legislation on women.

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The Poverty Initiative is part of the Justice and Advocacy Commission of the National Council of Churches of Christ.
Your comments and suggestions are welcomed: info@nccendpoverty.org / Phone 202-544-2350 ext. 27/ Fax: 202-488-5639

NCC Washington Office, 110 Maryland Ave. NE, Suite 108, Washington, DC 20002  / NCC Communication Department, 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 800, New York, NY 10115
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