"Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development, and building good governance" "(792). A quote from the former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, which sheds an interesting light on the contemporary issues that rarely consider gender inequality as a possible cause or potential solution. That is not to say that tremendous progress has not been made, however, after reading the works of writers such as John Stuart Mill and Virginia Woolf, the underlying limitations that some women are faced with have become much more obvious. I am confident in saying that if the issue of gender inequality was to dissolve we would see vast improvements in the negative aspects of society such as poverty, poor social development, and corrupt governance. .
When speaking of the possible roots of poverty, common suggestions by the media include, and are usually limited to: education, failure by the government to provide sufficient resources, and inability to find jobs. And while these suggestions are most definitely valid, the extent to which women feel these limitations or restrictions is heightened. When a society limits the potential of a woman's earning or success, that society is essentially limiting the welfare of households everywhere. If a woman earns less the household income for her family is less, which then means less money is available for the family, and this in turn limits the potential success and/or opportunity for her children, further perpetuating the cycle of poverty. We do not live in a society where forty hours of work by the man of the house provides enough to cover household expenses, and offering lower wages or restricting opportunity for advancement to the women of the workforce -- which is an unfortunate reality -- can most definitely be considered as a possible cause of household poverty.
