The Effects of Economic Recession on Women

Economic recession is defined to be a period of time (two consecutive quarters) where there is dismal or negative growth in an economy of a specific region or country. Economic recession has different effects on each sector of a nation. A particular sector could experience an impact that could distinctive only in his or her sector.

Women comprises half of the world’s population. During recessions, there is a relative downturn on women’s employment that ever before. Before the United States’ recession in 2001, women were not greatly affected by the economic recession. However, after the 2001 recession in the United States, women started losing a lot of jobs.

Women also experience low employment rates. Families rely on women’s employment to boost the family income during a recession. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics:

1. When women lose jobs, families lose a substantial share of the income. Women salaries are said to be one third of the whole family budget.

2. Over the past 30 years, families who have a working wife have seen real increases in family income.

3. During the 2001 recession, women were hit harder by unemployment than men.

4. After the recession of 2001, women were able to get back to their jobs but where unable to gain or experience any increase in their employment rates.

5. Women are said to be harder hit by the 2008 recession since women are disproportionately represented in state and local government services.

Women are also greatly affected by job losses during economic recession. Women are said to be the last person to be hired, but the last person to be fired. Unlike women, men shows stable numbers since United States had experienced the economic recession

Between March 2001 and August 2004, women lost jobs in a number of key industries. Women lost 347,000 jobs in information alone. In retail industries, women lost 367,000 jobs. The biggest lost will be in the manufacturing industry which cost women over a million jobs. These numbers are just in the United States alone.

Unemployment rate among adult women workers rise faster compared to men workers. From 3.8 percent in March 2007 it went up to 4.6 percent in March 2008. There is also a significant effect on the wage of women compared to men. Women’s wages are more unstable than men’s wages.

Women have the tendency or risk of seeing large drops in income than men do. It has been culturally embedded (based on gender analysis of events) that women’s income just fill in the disparity of men’s wage in terms of providing for the family. Thus women’s wage not being a major source of funds is more at risk of deduction.

In developing countries, women are facing poverty brought about by economic recession blowing out of proportions. With lack of work opportunities and immense poverty, women are forced to enter into prostitution and white slavery.

When economic recession hit in Asia in mid- 1997, women was the hardest hit by the crisis. Many women who have entered these industries come from rural areas because they could no longer sustain themselves and their families. Because of the recession, a lot of employees were released from their work. Women, carrying the burden of providing for their families were provided no other options.

Southeast Asian countries were deeply affected by the financial crisis and were left with social scars. Whenever economic recession or crisis similar to this happens, women and children bear the scars.

How to Survive the Economic Recession

People in the prehistoric times are not the only ones in survival mode. Nowadays, people all over the world especially in the United States are feeling the heat of the prevailing economic recession. With the sudden downturn of the economy, a lot of people are more hard up than they were in previous years. Some have even lost their jobs or have lost their homes because of the real estate crash in recent months. The problem with rising costs of gas has also affected the prices of food and other products. Times right now are tighter and harder.

But this is not to say that times are impossible to survive on. In fact, with a little creativity and a lot of forbearance, you can actually ride the economic recession tide and come out the victor. In this survival game, the most likely to survive are those who are willing to change their lifestyle and adapt to the times. Here are some ways to survive the economic recession:

1. Save!
This is not the time to buy, buy and buy in the excess. Buy only those that you feel you can eat or use. Do not buy more than you need. That way, you can be sure that you will not be wasting food. If you don't need additional clothes or things at home, don’t buy any. Save your money for other things that you will be needing in case emergency times are called for.

Saving does not only mean saving money but also saving in electricity, gas and water. You may not realize it but these are things that get a large chunk from your monthly expenses. The same goes with clothes and snacks. This is the time to scrimp. People will not think less of you when you do that.

2. Plan ahead.
You may not want to become an obsessive-compulsive but there are a lot of advantages to being one. Planning ahead and keeping the household organized can help save you some money in utilities, gas and even food. Planning your meals for instance will help you determine just how much you need to purchase at the grocery stores. The same goes with the gas that you use when you cook food or the electricity that you consume when you use the microwave over.

Planning meals allow you to cook food at the same time. This saves energy big time. Designating a day to go to the laundry shop, the bank, the groceries and to do other errands will allow you to save on gas by going on one road trip instead of going on multiple trips to town. You can even plan your trips in between sending your kids to school.

3. Partner with your neighbours
If kids in your neighbourhood go to the same school, ask the mothers to form some sort of group that will take turns sending the kids to school and fetching them afterwards. This will not only allow you to do more during the day, it will also save in gas as the kids travel in a carpool. If this is not viable, considering getting your kids into a school bus.

This way, you can be sure that your kid is safe and of course, school buses are cheaper than driving your kids to school everyday, truly a good option for kids in this time of economic recession.

Worried About Financial Planning For Retirement?

As time goes on, you know that there are always going to be problems with 401k investments that you get through your job. Though they should always make some money, you never know what is going to happen with the stock market. Depending on how much you have in there, and what type of stocks you own, you may take a huge hit from time to time. Nothing is guaranteed through a 401k, so you may have to think about financial planning for retirement in other forms.

There are quite a few different ways that you can go about financial planning for retirement. You don’t have to go with the IRA (Individual retirement Account) through your local bank, but that can be an option for you. You should find out if your bank has FDIC insurance for those particular accounts. Though that insurance will not protect you if you take losses, it will protect your money if your bank were to fail. Someone at the bank can discuss this type of financial planning for retirement with you in detail.

You can also go with the tried and true savings account. These are almost always protected by the FDIC, but only up to a certain amount. Make sure however, if you use these for part of your financial planning for retirement. What you are going to get with a savings account depends on how much you have in there. Interest rates can vary from bank to bank, so see what you can get through your current bank. You may find a better rate elsewhere, so search around for the best deal if you want to.



There are also money market accounts that you can use for your financial planning for retirement. However, these are not always covered by the FDIC either. That is something that you can look into, just as with the IRA. These are something like savings accounts, but the money is used for riskier investments by your bank. The Interest rate you get is going to reflect that however, as it can be higher than what you would get with savings. There is usually a minimum amount you must have, but that is not always all that much.

Perhaps when doing financial planning for retirement the best idea would be to move your money around as you go, and keep it in different but beneficial places. If you are not good at this stuff, talk with someone at your bank about what you want and see what they have to say. You can also find someone to help you with investments if you want to dabble in the stock market on your own. Just make sure you keep an eye on things so you are not losing more money than you can afford.