Vieth, Miriam E. (2021) The triple jeopardy of single mothers with a migration background: An empirical study on intersectional discrimination and the risk of poverty in the Netherlands. Master thesis.
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Abstract
Background. In the Netherlands, single parents are at higher risk of poverty than coupled parents. Moreover, women are disproportionately more likely to be single parents than men. In connection, there is a clear gender poverty gap for single mothers, leading to severe consequences for both the women’s and their children’s life course. The high risk of poverty especially single mothers face is one indicator of structural inequalities between certain societal sub-groups. Furthermore, the ethnic background of single parents has been shown to be a risk factor for poverty, further underlining the disadvantages certain sub-groups face. Objective. The objective of this study is which group characteristics determine structural inequality in the form of poverty. Following Crenshaw’s (1989, 1991) intersectionality theory, certain sub-groups combine different forms of disadvantages, reinforcing the individual risk of facing inequality. Therefore, I examine the single and the intersectional effects of gender, ethnicity, and single parenthood on the probability to live in poverty in the Netherlands. Method. Using data from the Netherlands Longitudinal Lifecourse Study (NELLS), I implement a multivariate linear probability analysis to examine the probability to live in poverty. Furthermore, I include interaction terms to measure the single and combined effects of single parenthood, gender, and ethnicity on the probability to live in poverty to analyse whether they differ between different societal sub-groups. Findings. I find that single parents, women, and individuals with a Non-Western ethnic background separately have a higher probability to live in poverty than their counterparts. Combining all three characteristics, single mothers with a Non-Western ethnic origin are found to have the highest predicted probability to live in poverty. However, I find that for single parents, the main driver of poverty is being female over having a Non-Western ethnic background. Conclusion. Within the group of parents, there are structural inequalities between the different sub-groups, leading to single mothers being the most vulnerable group to live in poverty. The intersectionality approach has thus proven useful in exploring structural inequalities.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master) |
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| Degree programme: | Population Studies |
| Supervisor: | Meijering, L.B. and Rutigliano, R. |
| Date Deposited: | 14 Jul 2021 13:24 |
| Last Modified: | 14 Jul 2021 13:24 |
| URI: | https://frw.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/3567 |
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