Introduction
Poverty and inequality are two major societal phenomenon with great impacts on women and children. Women have remained under the heels of men and sometimes find it very hard to achieve success or get appropriate employment due to such dynamics in the society. Currently women are advocating for equality with their fellow men. Although this is something achievable, there are still very many issues to be addressed. These women continue to face hardships when trying to achieve this equality (DeVault, 2008, p. 34). For instance, women have keenly tried to acquire employment and become dependent but have continued to face increased hardships. In this research paper we will explain and discuss the major hardships faced by women while trying to gain employment in attempt to get off welfare.
Literature Review
For a long time, women trying to gain employment in an attempt to get off welfare have always a lot of challenges and hardships. From across the ideological and political spectrum, it used to be viewed that the social welfare systems in American would be a success. However, there is currently an international agreement that these welfare systems have become a great failure. From the beginning of the Second World War, the United States was engaged in a mission to end poverty (Moffitt, 2007, p. 42). The idea of Welfares began towards this dream. However, today what is received is that massive investments have led to more poverty.
The welfare system has become very unfair to many people. The societies which need to mediate these welfares such as churches and the community are been pushed aside (Karsten, 2006, p. 84). The same issue has become very great such that the opportunities for the people, and especially women, living in the welfare have widely been affected. The welfares today are destroying each and every opportunity for women and hopes for their children.
From statistics of 1960, it was observed that 5.6 per cent of all births in were out of marriage. However, about thirty per cent of births today are illegitimate. In the black community, the illegitimacy rate is about 66 per cent. About 64 per cent of people on welfare today have been on the program for eight years or even longer. As well, those children born in welfare have higher chances of staying and growing on the welfare than other children. Another important feature is that the welfare has increased the chances of hardships and dependency such that people cannot try to get off them (Moffitt, 2007, p. 47).
Increased criminal activities have also been recorded and associated with individuals who have been on welfare programs. It is also observable that the welfare greatly contributes to what is known as social marginalization of the young men and even women. The role of many individuals in the society has greatly been supplanted by the constant checks by welfare (Karsten, 2006, p. 57). Over the years, we have observed that the law fails to acknowledge any significant welfare reform. More and more people have been enrolled into the welfare programs thus reducing their significance in helping the people.
The issue of employment has become widely debated as part of an agenda or mission to get off welfare. The big mandate has been the requirement that welfare should offer "workfare'' in form of benefits. The belief is that these jobs will effectively offer the recipients with both incentives and experience to get off welfare. However, it is notable that these jobs have been envisioned under workfare programs and therefore may not significantly give the recipients the relevant work skills or experience such that they may find good work in the public or even the private sector (Karsten, 2006, p. 84).
Data Collection Process
To come up with good results from the research study and give insights to some of the major hardships faced by women trying to get employment and get off welfare, it was necessary that to adopt a methodology that would ensure the right data was obtained for effective analysis. For the study and collection of data, it was necessary to distribute questionnaires indiscriminately to collect the right information (DeVault, 2008, p. 45). The questionnaires were distributed to women in different welfare business organizations in order have appropriate data and information obtained. The questionnaires were structured in a way that they all contained open-ended short questions, and also the use of closed ended questionnaires.
During the study, different women on welfare programs were to be interviewed had been required to ensure that they provided only the necessary information they had with them, and also indicate their willingness of having a new kind of a job. During the study, individuals were encouraged to give their age and other personal details so as to be able to understand some of the necessary attributes towards entrepreneurial activities. The data that was collected was then brought up together and coded in order to reduce the bulkiness, and finally analyzed by the use of linear regression technique (DeVault, 2008, p. 63).
Also, another important approach that was necessary during this study process had been in holding personal discussions with sociological and economic experts and scholars especially in the field of women. Such individuals would offer important views and findings towards the hardships faced by women trying to get employment. After the data was collected, analysis was done to determine and establish the major hardships faced by women trying to gain employment and overcome their poor situations and make their lives better. All relevant data was collected by engaging appropriate practices and focusing on different individuals facing challenges in an attempt to get employment.
Presentation of Data
From the study, the following factors and hardships were noted to affect women in an attempt to get employment and get off welfare:
- Lack of proper education
- Lack of training
- Societal trends and patterns
- Changing economic trends
- Lack of economic empowerment
- Lack of proper knowledge and skills
- Poor management of welfare jobs and other employment opportunities.
From the data collected, over ninety per cent of the interviewees indicated to be dissatisfied with their current positions and lives. That being the case, the individuals are keen to get new foundations and areas whereby they can promote their living conditions by getting proper employment and get off welfare. Another important finding was that the employment opportunities were very few and were only given in a biased manner. Such findings and data can therefore be used to change these foundations and appropriately address most of the issues faced by women in our modern world. Once given the chance, women can as help develop themselves and achieve many things as their fellow men.
Analysis and Discussion of the Data
In this research study, we were interested in determining the hardships faced by women trying to get employment and by so doing get off welfare. Having successfully conducted the above study in different welfare programs, we realized that problem of getting employment is very great especially in the eyes of women (DeVault, 2008, p. 45). Lack of proper training and education is the first thing which makes it impossible for them to realize such goals. Increased assumptions in the private sectors argue that women from welfare lack the necessary prowess and training and therefore they may not address the issues of the job or employment as required.
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At times, women from welfare have what it takes in terms of knowledge and information thereby making it hard for them to get off welfare. This is a prolonged issue which has made it impossible to get new employment. The governments have also ignored the situations faced by such individuals. That being the case, many women have continued to remain in their very situations. Increased economic changes have widely been impacting on the modern approaches and dimensions to be undertaken whenever addressing these issues faced by women (DeVault, 2008, p. 74).
Women have currently become the center of interest to get off welfare through job and employment provision. Different studies have been done to examine the social, economic and psychological effects of welfare reform and how such can impact on the future lives of poor women and families. In an attempt to get off welfare by getting the rightful employment, women have significantly been facing a great deal of challenges ranging from inappropriate recruitments and lack of experience (Hays, 2003, p. 32). Most of the desperate and poor women have grown in welfare and therefore lack most of the modern skills required currently. This single fact has been making hard for such individuals to get the right employment.
Another notable thing is that these women lack the required productive skills and training which can empower them and make it possible for them to get the required employment. For instance, statistics have showed that the lack of skills and proper education and training have greatly impacted negatively on women thus making it hard for them to secure the relevant employment opportunity (Hays, 2003, p. 62). Lack of education and proper training has been a hindering fact which has been denying women the right tools and capability to get off welfare. Such hardships are quite demanding and may not be easily addressed.
In order to improve and change the issues facing by women who are trying to get off welfare, it is mandatory that a number of reforms and training programs should be initiated to make sure the lives and the well-being of most of these women in welfare have adequately been supported and addressed. Once this has successfully been done, it would be possible for women to address most of the challenges faced in an attempt to secure the right jobs and by so doing uplift their living conditions and make their lives more enjoyable (Hays, 2003, p. 38).
Currently, the idea of offering incentives to recipients so that they can easily get off welfare is something that has largely been based on stereotypical belief that such welfare recipients tend to be essentially lazy, and may be looking for free rides. However, this choice for an individual to opt for welfare is something which is likely to be as a result of some logical conclusion that the welfare will pay better than other types of low-wage jobs or employment. Most of the welfare recipients, particularly the long-term recipients, tend to lack the required skills necessary for them to acquire the defined jobs that are capable of paying top or an average wage (Moffitt, 2007, p. 55). For instance, those people who decide to leave welfare so that they can work tend to start their employment in the retail or service or industries; generally, they get jobs such secretaries, clerks, cleaning persons, or waitresses and sales helps. After making this observation, it becomes a bigger challenge for the individuals to leave welfare because they are pessimistic about the future.
If women are enrolled on welfare, then by condition, such people are unable to have proper care for themselves and their children or families. They are not able to work, or it is recognizable that the private sector cannot as well provide enough jobs for them. This is a very big hardship faced by those women who have very hard been trying to get employment and get off welfare. This is supposedly the main reason why such women have been forced to remain on welfare. The sense is that such individuals require work but the employment sectors see them as individuals who may not work (Moffitt, 2007, p. 58). That being the case, the idea that people on welfare can work for it is very wrongheaded. If a person is noted to be capable of working, then he is ineligible for the payments of welfare.
The social status and situations faced by women have significantly been making it hard for them to realize their potential and ability so that they can get off welfare. This kind of situation has been making it impossible for them to get employment and become sustainable. The workfare offered on welfare fails to address some of the serious social issues and consequence faced. For instance, we have more women with children who have been born out of wedlock (Moffitt, 2007, p. 61). This has continued to increase the increasing rate of illegitimate children thus causing more and more problems in the welfare. Many problems exist in the welfare and therefore they would better be addressed if a long lasting solution was to be found.
Basically, research has indicated that there are very many fundamental issues which make it hard for women to achieve their societal goals and empowerment. This has exactly been the same thing affecting their ability to get employment opportunities and get off welfare to lead better lives. For instance, women have on welfare have never been appropriately addressed in terms of job training, proper education, housing, delivery of social services, housing among others (Karsten, 2006, p. 48). These issues have greatly been affecting their ability to address the issues they face. Poverty and lack of proper public assistance have continued to affect women thus making them unable to address the major things affecting them. Changes are needed to ensure these issues faced by women have significantly been addressed. The current civil society or charitable societies should come up with new approaches to address the issues and needs of the poor individuals. As well, governments should continue to address and tear down barriers to promote empowerment of women and as well improve economic growth patterns.
From the presented data, many women lack relevant information on how they can get the right job. As well, lack of proper ideas and knowledge has made impossible to realize their goals. Very many women have been affected by these structures such that it is very hard to realize their potentials. The society also makes it hard for women to realize their goals because of continued foundations of inequality (Karsten, 2006, p. 48). Basically, our data shows that most of the women today face a wide number of hardships include health issues, economic positions and lack of training and knowledge to pursue their dreams in getting employment and hence be able to get off welfare and make their lives better.
Conclusion
For a very long time, the society has continued to ignore the problems and issues faced by women. Today we have very many women on welfare programs. These women have been thinking of ways and approaches of getting new employments and make their lives better. However, these women have continued to face very many hardships in trying to secure employment and get off welfare (DeVault, 2008, p. 84). These challenges range from lack of knowledge and training to economic and social issues faced. It would therefore be admirable for different governments and societies to come up with new approaches and ways of addressing these issues and thereby make it possible for these women to realize their potentials and live better lives. All the necessary emotional, economic and psychological support should be provided to the women so that they can easily realize their potentials and effectively get off welfare.