The most comprehensive compilation of information on the status of
women in the world.

Latest items for SMES-DATA-2

March 15, 2024, 2:30 p.m.
Countries: Gabon
Variables: SMES-DATA-2

"[T]he State, through the National Health Insurance and Social Protection Fund [provides training for] single mothers" (29).
Jan. 29, 2024, 5:50 p.m.
Countries: Bosnia-Herzegovina
Variables: SMES-DATA-2

"Many single mothers receive no alimony payments from the fathers of their children" (14). "[T]he payment of alimony by fathers in a timely manner [are not ensured]" (15).
Jan. 28, 2024, 6:55 p.m.
Countries: Cote D'Ivoire
Variables: SMES-DATA-2

"In the hamlets of the Sassandra-Marahoué district you can see what the new economic reality means – people ranging in age from teenagers to their mid-30s are absent. The village elders have a word for this exodus, l’aventure: younger people who have left the strictures of village life for the city, jobs, anonymity and freedom. But they have also left their children. In village after village, grandmothers are bringing up four or five or six grandchildren, in some cases great-grandchildren, too. Often the parents slip away in the dead of night, without warning, leaving their children behind" (para 5-6). "'It’s really difficult to look after the grandchildren, the cooking, the...more
Jan. 16, 2024, 6:33 p.m.
Countries: Botswana
Variables: SMES-DATA-2

"Women, particularly female-headed households experience greater levels of poverty and have a high dependency ratio" (8). “With rural population standing at about 36.4 per cent of total population of Botswana, rural areas of Botswana are characterised by a concentration of poor households, the majority of which are headed by women more than men . . . The distribution of poor households at national level revealed a slightly higher percentage of female headed households living below the PDL at 6.3% compared with 4.4% of male headed households, while in rural areas it was at 2.6% for male headed households and 3.5% for female headed households. The majority of rural women do...more
Oct. 15, 2023, 2:22 p.m.
Countries: United Kingdom
Variables: SMES-DATA-2

"Half of single parents and their children are consigned to life below the poverty line, a penury that 60% of them would escape if fathers paid the maintenance due. Figures from single parents’ charity Gingerbread show that 90% of single parents are women" (para 3)
Aug. 24, 2023, 1:08 a.m.
Countries: Cape Verde
Variables: SMES-DATA-2, CL-DATA-1

"[P]overty rates remain disproportionately high among women in the State party… [O]ver 60 per cent of poor and very poor households are headed by women in the State party, particularly in deprived urban areas" (12).
Aug. 8, 2023, 8:30 p.m.
Countries: Bulgaria
Variables: SMES-DATA-2

"[There is the] lack of information on low-income households headed by women and on the specific contribution of social programmes to improving the economic situation of women with low incomes" (11).
June 20, 2023, 9:30 p.m.
Countries: Nicaragua
Variables: SMES-DATA-2

"Since 2012, the Bono de Patio ('yard voucher') and Patio Saludable ('healthy yard') programmes have helped to build the capacity of urban and peri-urban households to produce healthy food in their own yards as a means of contributing to food security. The main beneficiaries are women, most of them heads of families, who are given plants and tools to manage their yards. A total of 262,317 women have benefited thus far." (29)(NF - CODER COMMENT- The ability to produce healthy food from their own yards does not equate that female-headed households are poor, however, considering that they are able located in urban areas suggests that they may be slightly better...more
June 14, 2023, 7:56 p.m.
Countries: Bolivia
Variables: SMES-DATA-2

"8,889 women heads of household, single mothers, received social housing" (26).
March 18, 2023, 10:20 p.m.
Countries: Ethiopia
Variables: SMES-DATA-2

"11,880,345 women from whom 2,138,673 are female heads and 9,741,672 married women were issued land-holding certificates" (20). "The gender provisions of the Food Security Program address the demands of female heads, pregnant women, and women in marriage" (21). "Recurrent food insecurity, competing household responsibilities and less bargaining power impede women heads of households from taking part in activities outside of the home" (21). "The household asset building gives priority to female-headed households through its program of preventing asset depletion by assisting food insecure households" (21-22).
Feb. 24, 2023, 12:54 p.m.
Countries: Nepal
Variables: SMES-DATA-2

"The Enforcement of the Single Women Protection Fund Rules and institutionalization of a Single Women Protection Fund have been effective for the protection, empowerment, and in dealing with the critical concerns of single women." (9)(NF - CODER COMMENT - Considering there is a fund for single women, it can be infered that they are in dire economic situations).
Feb. 6, 2023, 12:07 p.m.
Countries: Kyrgyzstan
Variables: SMES-DATA-2

"The Committee notes with concern…[t]he high poverty rate (38 per cent) In the State party, disproportionately affecting women, especially rural women, women single heads of household and women engaged in unpaid care work" (13). "The Committee...notes with concern...[t]he disproportionately high poverty rates among rural women, particularly rural women heads of household" (13).
Jan. 12, 2023, 8:01 p.m.
Countries: Nicaragua
Variables: SMES-DATA-2

"Many of the laws enacted in the 1980s were put into better practice and the women’s movement found a new lease of life. Women’s working conditions have become a priority of the government. The advances have positively impacted urban and rural women-led households as different social programs have focused specifically on them" (para 8) (NF - CODER COMMENT - The implementation of social programs to assist woman-headed households shows that female-headed households did financially struggle more often than male-headed households and were more likely to need additional support). "Government social programs such as those organized by the Ministry for Family, Cooperative, Communal, and Associative Economy/MEFCCA, have a particular focus on...more
Jan. 2, 2023, 2:15 a.m.
Countries: Afghanistan
Variables: SMES-DATA-2

"[W]omen-headed households, have safe, equal and unrestricted access to humanitarian aid" (para 17). This recommendation means that current women-headed households do not have safe, unrestricted access to humanitarian aid (MV-coder comment).
Dec. 19, 2022, 4:48 p.m.
Countries: Haiti
Variables: SMES-DATA-2

"Marie says she was less than a month into her job at a garment factory in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, making clothes for a range of well-known US brands, when the factory’s head of security gave her an ultimatum: have sex with him or be fired. The 24-year-old says she had little choice. She relies on her job to support her four-year-old son after both her father and husband died. 'He made a lot of promises. He told me he was going to help me financially with my son’s school and was also going to help me pay my rent with a promotion, so I did it,' she says. 'Afterwards,...more
Dec. 9, 2022, 2:38 p.m.
Countries: Kenya
Variables: SMES-DATA-2

"Death and estate planning are still taboo topics for many married couples, and ... some people obscure their wealth. 'Men keep lots of secrets about money from their wives, and trust their mothers and siblings more - who in turn disinherit the wife and children,' " (para 11). "Five years after being widowed, Kimathi’s life was still on hold. She had looked into hiring a lawyer but could not afford it. Without access to the family property, it was difficult for her and her son to get by, and she had to rely on help from her parents and sister" (para 14).
July 1, 2022, 11:43 a.m.
Countries: East Timor
Variables: SMES-DATA-2

"In 2015, about 16 per cent of households were headed by females (around 32,000 households), a fairly stable rate since the 2010 census.270 To cover this vulnerable population, the ‘bolsa da mãe’ programme was expanded, both in terms of beneficiaries and benefit amount, receiving an important increase in investment, covering from 15,000 households in 2011 (overall budget: 2.5 million USD)271 to 61,705 households (29 per cent of total households) in 2017 and provided benefits to more than 183,000 children (32 per cent of total children) for a budget close to 9 million USD. The benefits reach 5 USD per month per child, up to a maximum of 3 children per...more
May 27, 2022, 4:14 p.m.
Countries: Turkey
Variables: SMES-DATA-2

"With the aid programme initiated by the MoFLSS in 2012 for women whose spouse has passed away, a monthly cash support of 325 TL is provided to the women in need. In 2019, 165.481 women and as of May 2020, 100.133 women benefited from this programme" (10).
May 16, 2022, 8:09 p.m.
Countries: Suriname
Variables: SMES-DATA-2

"...In addition, the Governmental Pension Bureau manages a Widows Pension System for widows of civil servants and employees of State owned enterprises. A comparison between 2002 and 2013 shows that the percentage of women receiving pension increased from 40 per cent to 44 per cent, while women receiving widow’s pension, shows a slight decrease from 94 per cent in 2002 to 91 per cent in 2013" (35). "Women’s major presence as grantees for Financial Assistance and Child Allowance is related to their position as care takers in families and a relatively high prevalence of households headed by women, both in the coastal areas and in the interior" (36). "Data provided...more
Feb. 2, 2022, 12:28 p.m.
Countries: Madagascar
Variables: SMES-DATA-2

"In some towns and cities, particularly in Antananarivo, homeless women raised small children in dangerous conditions and environments and forced children as young as three years old to beg on the streets. Sometimes babies were 'rented' to beggars to try to increase sympathy from passersby. Government authorities rarely intervened in these cases of child endangerment" (22).
Jan. 7, 2022, 12:07 p.m.
Countries: Somalia
Variables: SMES-DATA-2

"The economic situation of female-headed households is quite good. Females are selling vegetables, fruits, second hand clothes, khat (mira), and meat on the streets. Anything they can get their hands on to sell. So they are doing very well as single head of households and are being able to provide for their families and even extended families. These ladies do not have education, but have the wit as single mothers to head households" (1).
July 29, 2021, 3:23 p.m.
Countries: Nigeria
Variables: SMES-DATA-2

"In a number of camps in Nigeria, women significantly outnumber men and are the de facto heads of their households. This puts even more pressure on women to find ways to earn extra income and support their families which in turn increases their exposure to sexual abuse and exploitation. Women and girls may also be coerced by male residents of the camp and others, to provide 'sexual services' in exchange for their 'protection.' These women and girls may also be seen as 'easily accessible' by men. 'It is not safe inside the camp.' Donald writes from Yola, Adamawa State" (para 11-12).
June 23, 2021, 4:08 p.m.
Countries: Afghanistan
Variables: SMES-DATA-2

"Parwana, an Afghan mother of five, begs on the streets of the southeastern Afghan city of Ghazni. She says seeking charity is her only means of survival since her husband, a policeman, was killed by the Taliban two years ago. 'When my husband was killed, I sent the authorities several requests for help, but I never heard back or received any assistance,' she told Radio Free Afghanistan inside her crumbling mud house in Ghazni’s Khwaja Ali neighborhood" (para 1-2). "Bibi Hawa... says the killing of her husband, a civilian, last year in one of the frequent firefights between Afghan security forces and Taliban militants left her ruined. She manages to...more
May 31, 2021, 5:59 p.m.
Countries: Peru
Variables: SMES-DATA-2

"Studies show that families headed by women earn 16 percent less income than those families headed by men" (para 6).
May 15, 2021, 7:08 p.m.
Countries: China
Variables: SMES-DATA-2

"According to the letter of the law, a Chinese family court should be a safe haven for Wang Fumei (not her real name), a 36-year-old battered wife and mother of two...Ms Wang’s meagre income should qualify her for legal aid from the state" (para 1-2). "Judges are quick to spot those who arrive in court desperate for a divorce or for custody of a child. They press such needy parties to give up property or make crippling cash payments to a spouse to 'buy' their freedom. That dynamic hurts women, who initiate 70% of divorces. In other cases the parent with less money, usually the mother, is simply deemed too...more
Feb. 26, 2021, 11:34 a.m.
Countries: Senegal
Variables: SMES-DATA-2

“Public policies on urban housing and titling programmes often focus on equal access for women-headed households. In Dakar (Senegal) and Ekurhuleni (South Africa), the proportion of women heads among those allocated plots is approximately the same as their share of all households, and they are more likely than men to complete the titling process. But it is generally overlooked that even married or cohabiting women are likely to lack joint legal ownership, making women more vulnerable to losing their home, as well as potentially limiting their decision-making on its use and management” (pp. 20).
Feb. 26, 2021, 11:34 a.m.
Countries: South Africa
Variables: SMES-DATA-2

“The research by WIEGO described in Box 3.1 indicates that 54 per cent of women employed as street vendors, home-based workers and waste pickers were the main breadwinners for their households. Among street traders in Johannesburg, South Africa, 66 per cent of women traders are the sole earner in their household, while this is true for only 32 per cent of men. Research on domestic workers in the same city found that almost 95 per cent support other people in full or in part, mainly children but also other family members. Although the worth of remittances, especially if sent by migrant children and women, is typically under-estimated by those receiving...more
Feb. 10, 2021, 10:01 p.m.
Countries: Iran
Variables: SMES-DATA-2

"The increase also has resulted in more teenage girls leading households while they struggle with the impact of the pandemic" (para 11).
Feb. 4, 2021, 2:06 p.m.
Countries: India
Variables: SMES-DATA-2

"The Committee calls upon the State party...To adopt an integrated policy to enhance the living conditions of women and girls who survived the Gujarat riots, including by adopting appropriate economic recovery measures, allocating below-poverty-line cards and providing other benefits under government schemes, and to step up witness protection and security measures, especially for women and girls living in relief colonies" (5-6). "The Committee is concerned at the prevalence of customs and traditional practices that prevent rural women, especially women from scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, from inheriting or acquiring land and other property. It is also concerned at the difficulties faced by rural women and women living in remote areas...more
Jan. 31, 2021, 3:04 p.m.
Countries: Australia
Variables: SMES-DATA-2

"In 2013, the Government enacted laws that reduce single mothers' access to social security. Single parents on the main unemployment payment were $80-$140 per week worse off. Several measures require parents to participate in 'mutual obligation activities' to receive income support payments. These mutual obligation activity' measures will be expanded by a new program from July 2018. If a parent fails to participate in an activity, their payment may be suspended. It is expected that 96% of program participants will be women" (12). "In 2018, the Government introduced intrusive measures that require single parents receiving parenting or unemployment payments to provide a legally binding confirmation from a third party that...more