Women On Welfare

11 Pages 2797 Words

men with no children and who are recipients of welfare, the poverty rate is astonishingly high at 90 percent, while single mother’s on welfare is 82 percent. In comparison among the men, there is only 24 percent who are receiving social assistance. Only 3 percent of single fathers are on social assistance.
In all of Canada, according to statistics Canada, the number of people, whether married, with or without children on social assistance has risen from 1,322,918 in 1975-76 up to 2,937,100 in 1995-96. 14 percent or 1,280,000 women, who were non-elderly, were recipients of social assistance for all or at least part of the year of 1994. Married or common-law women who received social assistance during the same year were the largest group with 544,000 or 43 percent. Of this group of women, 297,000 or 55 percent had children residing with them. Single mothers who were receiving social assistance were the second largest group with 339,00 or 27 percent. 16 percent or 202,000 females on social assistance were living alone (Statistics Canada, 2000). I also found that women with disabilities also have a significantly high rate of reliance on social assistance. I do not have the statistics on these women.
It is very clear to me, at least, that this so called “safety net” which is supposed to help aide people until they can get back on their feet, is part of the reason that poor women are staying poor. While at the same time, men, whether single parents or just single, are living easier lives.
Lloyd Axworthy’s 1994 social policy review showed that “fewer single father families were in poverty compared to ten years ago, although income by men after inflation and taxes decreased over that period, while comparable women’s issues rose.” As well as;
“Poverty in children of single mothers increased during that period, in spite of large increases in child support, government assistance ...