Women and Poverty: A Qualitative Study on Selected Female-Headed Households in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, Malaysia

Authors

  • Muhamad Hilmi Abdul Rahman Faculty of Business and Economics Universiti Malaya http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8580-673X
  • Azmah Binti Othman Social Wellbeing Research Centre Universiti Malaya
  • Yong Zulina Binti Zubairi Registrar's Office Universiti Malaya

Abstract

Women and poverty reduction are vital for development discourse as they determine income inequality and the inclusion rate of society. Like a global phenomenon, female-headed households in Malaysia are of great concern as they are often marginalized as the sole breadwinner, and it contributes to poverty. To investigate the challenges and factors as well as uncover the intricacies of social and economic resources of the issue, a qualitative case study grounded on a theoretical framework based on social, resource, and economic theories is adopted. A purposive maximum sampling method was used in the selection of seven female-headed households in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor state. Low educational attainment, household structure, and cost of living are three construct factors identified. It establishes a relational link considering the household head’s educational level, household structure, and rising cost of living are critical to the relationship between female headship and poverty. The contribution of this study is to question the challenges and factors linked to the concentration of poverty among households headed by females, and it elucidates a better understanding of women and poverty in Malaysia and in Southeast Asia in general. Recognizing both the unidimensional and multidimensional aspects of poverty, the implications of the study call for policy development that provides strong socio-economic support with an emphasis on the empowerment of female-headed families.

Author Biographies

Muhamad Hilmi Abdul Rahman, Faculty of Business and Economics Universiti Malaya

Muhamad Hilmi Abdul Rahman is a PhD student at the Institute for Advanced Studies and Fellow at the Department of Political Science, Public Administration, and Development Studies, Faculty of Business and Economics, Universiti Malaya, Malaysia. His primary field is development studies with research emphasis of poverty. His research interest also covers poverty reduction strategy, inequality, and co-operative development. He is currently involved in assessing poverty reduction discourse in Malaysia. He is the recipient of the 14th edition of the Instituto Di Studi Economici E Per L’Occupazione Scholarship 2017, Italy.

Azmah Binti Othman, Social Wellbeing Research Centre Universiti Malaya

Azmah Othman is a senior lecturer at the Department of Development Studies, Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya, Malaysia. Her key areas of interest are co-operative development, rural development, and agricultural development. She served as the Deputy Dean of Undergraduate 2014-2016 and Deputy Dean of Higher Degree 2018-2020 at the Faculty of Economic and Administration, Universiti Malaya. She holds a Master of Science from Amherst College of Wales and PhD from the Universiti Malaya.

Yong Zulina Binti Zubairi, Registrar's Office Universiti Malaya

Yong Zulina Zubairi is currently the Registrar at the Universiti Malaya, Malaysia. Her areas of research interests are medical and circular statistics, and internationalisation of higher education. She is also involved in the National Graduate Tracer Study by the Ministry of Higher Education. She has held several management and committee posts at the university level. She obtained her PhD from the Bradford University.

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Published

2024-10-31

Issue

Vol. 94 No. 3 (2024): Akademika 94(3) 2024

Section

Regular Articles

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