Turkish Studies eISSN: 1308-2140 INTERNATIONAL BALKAN UNIVERSITY www.turkishstudies.net/turkishstudies Research Article / Araştırma Makalesi Sponsored by IBU Cite as/ Atıf: Karakaya, H. (2020). Kadın yoksulluğu ve kadın yoksulluğunu besleyen unsurlar, Turkish Studies, 15(1), 307-325. https://dx.doi.org/10.29228/TurkishStudies.30173 Received/Geliş: 07 Augost/Ağustos 2019 Checked by plagiarism software Accepted/Kabul: 25 February/Şubat 2020 Published/Yayın: 29 February/Şubat 2020 Copyright © MDE, Turkey CC BY-NC 4.0 Kadın Yoksulluğu ve Kadın Yoksulluğunu Besleyen Unsurlar * Women Poverty and Factors Feeding Women Poverty Handan Karakaya * Abstract: Throughout history, women have been subjected to various forms of discrimination in different cultures and regions of the world. It is possible to mention many factors that feed these discrimination. However, we can say that the most basic discrimination which can extend its arms from the depths of history to patriarchy. Patriarchal discourse defines women as passive, obedient and patient, while reinforcing the male- dominated power field within the social structure. The social and economic consequences of this form of empowerment are reflected in women's lives. Women experience the consequences of discrimination in different ways. One of the most important of these results is poverty. As a result of women's social, economic and cultural discrimination, women experience poverty in the world more deeply than men. The concept of women's poverty emerges as one of the consequences of the inability of women to benefit from opportunities such as education and employment. Women's poverty can be defined as the situation of women falling into poverty due to inadequate social and economic opportunities. In this respect, the poverty approach of Amartya Sen is gaining importance. According to Sen, poverty cannot be defined as a “low income” or “ income insufficiency”. When we think about this definition, the opportunity to improve the ability of women to do away with it, it is difficult to get rid of falling into poverty. In this study, our aim is to reveal female poverty and the factors that feed this poverty. While women are crushed under the weight of the patriarchal social structure, they can benefit from opportunities such as education and employment much less than men. This places women among the groups representing poverty in the society, and this leads to the transformation of poverty into an inter generational heritage. This study was carried out by comparing and analyzing the ratios of men and women in the data obtained from various fields (education, employment, etc.) as well as obtaining data with documentation techniques. Structured Abstract: As a result of their social, economic and cultural discrimination, women experience poverty much more deeply than men. The concept of women's poverty has emerged as one of the consequences of women's inability to take advantage of opportunities such as education and employment and has entered the agenda of various international organizations. Women's poverty can be defined as the state of falling into poverty due to lack of income and limited opportunities socially and economically. * Dr. Öğr. Üyesi, Fırat Üniversitesi, İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi, Sosyal Hizmet Bölümü Asst. Prof. Dr., Firat University Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Department of Social Services 0000-0003-2749-4277 hkarakaya@firat.edu.tr