Poverty and Marginalized Groups:

Though  there are  several  causes  of  poverty,  the  common  one  is  structural.  'The ownership of assets particularly land,  is a primary reason  for poverty  in  rural areas. In  most  cases  it  is  observed that  poverty  in  a  household  stems out  either  from unemployment or unproductive employment. Social discrimination, apart from lack of asset base is another cause of poverty. In  India, caste division leads to restrictions on  occupational mobility of people, thus they are forced to earn their livelihood from their  traditional  occupations.  Even in a developed  nation such  as the  US,  for example, the Blacks are found to earn less than  the whites in  similar  jobs. It  is observed that there are specific groups of population where poverty  is endemic. The  level and pattern of poverty depends on  the  level of per  capita income and  the unequal distribution of the prevailing level of  income. Under such circumstances, it is important for policy makers to study the spread of population which  is poor.

Gender and Poverty

Women  make  a  substantial  proportion  of  poor  people.  Studies have  shown  that women  headed  household  in  rural  areas  are  the  poorest. The  income  disparity between  men  and women  is evident due to vast  differentials in  wages paid  to men and  women.  Women  are increasingly  employed  in  the  unorganized  sector  as unskilled  labour. They are also engaged  in  home-based work where they get  piece wages. Female-headed households are often poor, as women do not get  jobs or credit to set up  their own  businesses.  In  recent years, the term  'feminisation  of poverty'  is used  to denote the specific characteristics of  poverty  where  women  are directly affected adversely as a result of development process.

Rural Poor

In most of the developing world, large proportion  of population work  in  rural areas and  are engaged  in  low wage agriculture or allied activites. Though most often, the governments of these countries are aware of the imminent rural poverty, the path  of development followed  by  them  is  in  favour of  urban  areas. This bias  in  favour of urban  areas  in  terms of healthcare  facilities, educational  institutions, housing and other infrastructure  has put the rural population further into poverty.