Women, conflict and poverty

Conflict and war are never winners for anyone. But especially for girls and women, these emergencies create lifelong consequences. They often find themselves trapped in a cycle of poverty that leaves them and their children struggling to survive long after they have escaped immediate physical danger.

Due to a variety of causes, over 340 million girls and women will be living in poverty by 2030, according to the United Nations. One of those causes is conflict. In conflict areas, women are 7.7 times more likely to live in extreme poverty.

There are four significant ways in which conflict drives girls and women into poverty. Some of the linkages may not be obvious on the surface, but they have knock-on effects that result in increased poverty.

1. Income inequality based on gender-role restrictions causes girls and women to be economically dependent on their partners.

The impact of gender inequality becomes apparent when men are injured, killed or disappear as a result of conflict, leaving families with little or no income. Globally, women who work outside of the home make only 77 cents for every dollar a man earns, so the loss of their partner’s income drives them closer to poverty. Meanwhile, most work in the home, the vast majority of which is done by women, is unpaid.

Women in the developing world also own far less of the land they cultivate to sustain their families. On average, women own 10 per cent of the land while being responsible for 60 per cent to 80 per cent of food production.

It is important to note that conflict and the absence of male breadwinners can sometimes lead to an expansion of women’s roles and even improved livelihood, but research suggests the gains are temporary. In many countries, once the conflict is over, women tend to lose those jobs and are pressured to return to traditional gendered roles once again.

1. Limited or unequal access to education due to conflict leaves women less able to find work.

Education is typically disrupted or eliminated entirely in areas of conflict, but again, girls and women suffer disproportionate harm. Girls will decline to attend schools in conflict areas because of the risk of attacks and sexual violence. This is on top of pre-existing attitudes about girls and women that often limit the amount of education they can get (and in some places, it’s almost none at all). According to UNESCO, girls and young women are three times more likely than men to be unemployed or out of school.

The impact of conflict all but guarantees worse outcomes for girls and women. Without education, it’s much more difficult to be prepared for the employment that can help lift an individual or family out of poverty.

1. The food insecurity created by conflict disproportionately impacts women’s ability to earn a living.

Conflict is the main cause of hunger in places facing food crises and accounts for the food insecurity facing 135 million people in 20 countries as of 2023. The immediate effect of conflict is to reduce food production and access to food overall. However, women suffer more from this outcome because patterns of gender inequality mean they have less access to whatever food is available. Almost 60 per cent of the world’s 343 million hungry people are women and girls.

Besides serious health effects such as malnutrition and anemia, chronic hunger harms cognitive growth and leaves women susceptible to more illness, which in turn harms future opportunities for economic participation. Without those opportunities to earn a better wage, for example, poverty is more likely.

1. Conflict reduces the availability and quality of critical health services women need to stay in the labour force.

To participate in creating livelihoods for themselves and their families, women need to be healthy. However, the main impact of conflict is resources being diverted toward military spending ( up from an average of 2.8 per cent of GDP to 5 per cent ) and away from spending on infrastructure and health. By the same token, conflict simply destroys healthcare infrastructure outright. Similar to the issue of food insecurity, lack of access to adequate healthcare leads to higher rates of chronic disease and illness among girls and women.

When access to sexual and reproductive health services are disrupted, women and girls are at greater risk of unplanned pregnancy, early marriage, maternal mortality and morbidity, and physical and emotional trauma related to sexual violence. With their options for independent pursuit of a livelihood reduced or cut off, women and girls are dependent on their partners or saddled with social stigma and illness, either of which can drive them into poverty.

How World Vision is helping girls and women facing conflict and poverty

World Vision uses a number of approaches, from the practical to the cultural, to help girls and women avoid the cycle of poverty.

• We support the establishment of savings and loans groups —a type of mutually beneficial small-scale lending—that create opportunities for women to gain financial independence.

• We support gender-inclusive training for farmers through approaches like Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration, a type of sustainable farming that requires no specialized equipment. Training in such agricultural practices can help women improve their ability to feed their families and increase household income.

• We support the education of women and men on gender equality. This can help improve household gender dynamics so that women feel empowered and able to be equal financial providers for their families alongside their partners.

• We support increasing access to education for girls, not only as a means of creating future opportunity, but also to mitigate the impact of violence and displacement.

Poverty does not have to be a life sentence. With action, the year 2030 does not have to see the world reach 340 million girls and women living in destitution.

A less visible but no less valuable way forward is involving women in conflict resolution. Post-conflict reform is an opportunity for changing structures and norms to enshrine women’s rights. Research indicates the results for peacebuilding and confidence-building are better when women are involved or take the lead. Peace is the first step toward eliminating poverty. Let’s get started.