Essay on Social Work, Intersectionality and Poverty

Poverty

Poverty is a prime social issue where many people are poor and are unable to afford to pay for essentials in everyday life. The Joseph Rountree Foundation (2022) defines poverty 'as constraining a person's ability to afford to buy what they need and participate in the activities routinely undertaken by others in society. Low incomes also reduce financial resilience to unexpected expenses, such as car repairs or a faulty washing machine, and lead to households falling behind with bills for utilities, Council Tax, or other essentials. The English Oxford Dictionary (2020) defines poverty as 'the state of being extremely poor'. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannia (2020), 'Poverty is a state of being financially incapable of affording the essentials of the prevailing standard of living.' However, Economist, Elizabeth Ellis Hoyt defined 'the standard of living not as the material things consumed but the satisfaction attained.' (The editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica 2020.)

Whilst we understand what poverty is, do we really know who's guilty of poverty being experienced by so many? Many theorists and historians have all researched the poor and it is crucial for those to recognize and understand the subculture of those dwelling in poverty and to recognize how poverty is regarded by people from different classes.

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There is a huge gap between the wealthy and poor with those that live in poverty unable to shop for necessities, such as food, water, clothing, and shelter which all assist to offer a feeling of well-being, both material and psychological. It is assumed that poverty is a result of not only those living in a lower class but also of the government for the high levels of unemployment, rises in costs which include fuel and petrol costs, and several cuts to agencies and professionals that provide support and advice for those that are poor and unable to pay their bills. The government plays an important role in reducing poverty as its goal is to develop economic policies to help people within. Where some researchers state that it is the responsibility of the government others argue that poverty lies on the people that are experiencing it. research states that 'these people are poor because they are not responsible, and the evidence of their lack of personal responsibility is that they depend on public assistance.' (Young, 2011). Throughout history, there has been a creation of different classes which include rich and poor. Marx said that capitalism creates 'haves' (those that have wealth) and 'have-nots' (those that do not have wealth). This creates a society that develops class divide and differences,e the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. (Young 2004). Moreno-Dodson and Woden (2008) state, 'if one thinks of poverty as resulting from a lack of opportunities empowerment and social protection, it is clear that the government is not solely responsible for filling that lack'. People in poverty are often stigmatized as being called the underclass Charles Murray an American Sociologist viewed ''excessive' state welfare payments as creating a dependency culture who don't want to work and there's your underclass' (Thomson 2008) . Murray characterized the concept of the underclass as, 'illegitimacy, violent crime and non-workers in young men.' Murray stigmatized the poor by giving the definition 'by the underclass, I do not mean people who are merely poor, but people at the margins of society, unsocialized and often violent' (Thomson 2008). Underclass was a term used by the government in the 80s when Margaret Thatcher denied that there was absolute poverty and defined deprivation as an irresponsible underclass. (UK Essays 2019). The poverty gap widened during this time as the conservatives would use the term underclass to support the idea that the poor were to blame for poverty.

Feminism

There are four paradigms of sociology which are functionalism, conflict theory, symbolic interaction, and feminism. however, for this assignment feminism will be discussed. Feminism is defined as a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes (Brunel 2019). Feminism incorporates the position that societies prioritize the male point of view, and women are treated unjustly within those societies (Gamble 2001).

Feminism theory helps to understand how women's experiences in society are different from men's. some theorists believe that the roles that men and women are different within institutions explain the sexual division of labor in the household (Zosuls, Kristina M., et al, 2011). It also aims to explore interconnections between issues of diversity, including race, social class, and gender, and to advance women's interests, health, and safety in all parts of the world (Hesse-Biber, 2012). Poverty is believed by feminists that it is a feminist issue. Whilst inequality exists in wages and in employment, women find it a greater struggle to reach out of poverty. They are seen to be oppressed by men by being kept in poverty and remaining powerless which can be a result of capitalism and patriarchy. Marx believed that the working class is exploited because of capitalism and that the exploitation is not only class but also gender (Armstrong 2020). Oppression of women has manifested in society through the gender wage gap. Murray saw underclass as behavior a lifestyle choice, a disease that infects people who share many of the following characteristics, female-headed lone parents, out-of-wedlock-births, school drop-outs, violent and criminal (Thomson 2008).

Judith Butler (1991) a social theorist argues that 'gender is not an essential category, the repetitious performances of 'male' and 'female' in accordance with social norms reifies the categories, creating the appearance of a naturalized and essential binary. Gender is never a stable descriptor of an individual, but an individual is always 'doing' gender, performing or deviating from the socially accepted performance of gender stereotypes'. Phillips (2015) argues that feminist theory can be reflected within the work of a social worker, there are challenges to the traditional methods, ethics, and ideas and even the family situation with more families separating and leading to lone parents.

Intersectionality

Kimberley Crenshaw first highlighted intersectionality as a feminist sociological theory in 1989 (Asewumi (2014). Intersectionality views the processes by which people approach the concepts of gender, race, and class as social constructions. Williams (2021) described intersectionality as 'How an individual can face multiple threats of discrimination when their identities overlap a number of minority classes, such as race, gender, age, ethnicity, health, and other characteristics'. Battle-Walter, (2004) shares that it is a perspective that examines how two or more social constructions of oppression and privilege intersect to shape people's social locations and cumulative lived experiences, which then lead to the discrimination and oppression of marginalized groups. There may be multiple factors that present in poverty which makes it multi-dimensional. One factor that is present in poverty is gender. gender inequalities mean women may experience different kinds of poverty than men or are expected to respond in different ways. There is a greater social expectation on women to take up caring roles and emotional work which is often an unrecognized contribution (Duncombe and Marsden, 1993; 1995). As a social worker, it is important to have knowledge of the Anti-Poverty Practice Guide (2019) which draws on the values and ethical principles and 'Social Justice' domains of the BASW Code of Ethics. BASW believes social workers should understand that poverty is a violation of people's dignity. It leads to the denial of resources required for a decent life and can cause shame and affect peoples' sense of their worth. It states that it causes social exclusion, thereby disempowering people from involvement in issues affecting them and that people are often denied involvement in institutions, resources, and opportunities. This means that social worker has a role to play in advocacy and practicing and promoting anti-poverty practice. Social workers need to be able to challenge unjust policies and practices to be able to professionally provide intervention to help to reduce poverty for people who are also battling with their intersectionality.

It was highlighted by the Women's Budget group, that women are 20% more likely to be in poverty than men. Although poverty in gender is understood within feminism if however, if there are further identities for a person such as disability, race, age, or sexuality then this will lead to a higher risk of living in poverty. For example, the sisters of Frida found that during the pandemic if a woman needed certain food products for their health needs, this became hard as there were no measures in place to prioritize online shopping for the disabled. Another example of intersectionality in poverty is that Black and marginalized women had reported that they were 23.7% struggling more to feed their children. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a rise in the demand for emergency food. Trussell Trust shared that they gave out 89% more food parcels in the first month of the pandemic with Statista 2019 stating that approximately 1.6 million people used a food bank in 2019.

It is important for a social worker to integrate poverty issues from a social intersectional perspective to be able to manage what everyday challenges a woman may be experiencing. Social work values link with intersectionality such as those of concern like oppression and power. A social worker who uses these in their practice will be able to question the structural causes to causes of poverty.

Sociological imagination

C Mills (2000) introduced the term sociological imagination, it is defined as 'the ability to understand how your own past relates to that of other people. As well as history in general and social structures.' As social workers, it gives them the ability to recognize that a service user's own issues may be a product of societal issues. By the social worker having knowledge of this, it will assist the individual to recognize themselves and the society that they live in. When a person is experiencing poverty, it is important for the social worker to look from a sociological point of view, if a person has grown up living in poverty it is difficult for them to see any difference. They may have experienced their own parents struggling to pay for the necessities and as a child they would not be able to change or control this therefore as they become adults themselves, living in poverty becomes the norm. a wide-scale view of social structures is defined as a Macro level, issue. Poverty can be a result of this as society will often place people in groups based on their gender, race, and religion. As society classifies these groups it can lead to inequalities within education and employment as incomes are often marginalized for these groups. If an individual can afford to attend further education, then they are more likely to get better jobs whereas a person who cannot attend further education due to low income, they are stuck in lower-paid roles such as cleaning and caring. Huston (1991) stated that there is a higher risk of children in poverty attending education than those from advantaged areas. There are several reasons for this including that the schools from the poverty areas are less likely to provide a safe environment for children with ineffective schools not gaining academic performance and experiencing poor attendance by its students. Children also become disruptive or non-compliant in the classroom as they may be hungry or had a lack of sleep (Garbarino, 1992). Gender, disability, race, or ethnicity can all increase the issues of poverty with children and women often experiencing the burdens. Children and women are often more vulnerable to social issues with economic pressures being raised by single mums as they must be solely responsible for the development of the child. Poverty can affect a person with them experiencing excessive levels of anxiety, depression, feeling hopeless, and being withdrawn however they may also show resilience and pride. It is important for social workers to understand the impact that poverty has on people's lives and how their actions can be a result of the poverty that they are experiencing. It has been stated that 'The world's most ruthless killer and the greatest cause of suffering on earth is extreme poverty' (The World Health Organization,1995). A lack of education, resources, and poor health leads poverty to be multi-dimensional. It is alienating and a concern for the effect that poverty would have on a person's mental well-being. The poor are often exposed to environments with several obstacles. People who work often have unrewarding jobs with heightened stress and will often feel isolated from society. 'The inverse association between socio-economic level and risk of disease is one of the most pervasive and enduring observations in public health' (Kaplan, et al, 1987). Wilkinson (1997) shared that 'being poor leads to deteriorating health with the inequality spilling over in society which in turn causes stress and frustration which then increases the risk of crime, homicide, and violence.