It’s counterintuitive, but the most effective anti-hunger programs rarely prioritize food. Instead, they focus on poverty alleviation.  Policies that don’t directly fight hunger, like paid maternity leave, paid sick time, and affordable childcare, are some of the most important opportunities we have for ending food insecurity. 

However, we are failing to address a major economic rift between Americans that continues to plague families and individuals regardless of social or wealth status: the gender wage gap.

This March ‘24, Senior Economist Elise Gould at the Economic Policy Institute had the dubious honor of reminding us of the little that has been accomplished in the last 30 years to improve the earning power disparity between genders. 

It’s hard to see this report, to be reminded that despite how hard I work, as an American womxn I can expect to make at least 16% less income than my male counterparts, worse yet as I chose a career in non-profit.   

At the risk of triggering any “TERFs” reading my content, I advocate broadening the gender pay gap argument to include womxn, to be inclusive of trans and gender nonconforming individuals, people of all racial backgrounds, and anyone else who identifies under this umbrella. Compensation and discrimination are core to food insecurity for all marginalized communities, but today I’m examining how this relates to gender.

It’s essential to recognize that all womxn, no matter their individual identity or situation, face discrimination with serious financial implications that impacts their food security.

Disparities in compensation increase for people of color, LBGTQ+, and those with disabilities. We can’t effectively fight hunger without calling out these stark truths.

Gould’s report for the EPI reminds us that not only are womxn unable to capture as great a proportion of what society reaps, but they are also disproportionately impacted by economic shocks and the impacts of poverty.  In a challenging job market with rising inflation, the loss of sixteen cents or more per dollar adds up to an impactful shortage. For many womxn, this is the difference between food security and not knowing where their next meal is coming from.

Because womxn are predominantly the caregivers, cooks, and shoppers of a household, they are often presented as the face of food insecurity, but focusing on the experience makes it easier to ignore the root causes.

Paying womxn less money than men is a primary cause of food insecurity.

In the role of caregiver, womxn are often forced to choose jobs that offer flexibility to accommodate the needs of their family, which generally pay lower wages. In addition, workplaces deliberately pay mothers less money than womxn without children.

Lower expectations of caregiving and blatant shows of sexism offer men more flexibility to pursue jobs with higher wages, and even reward them for having families. 

Our cultural consciousness often assumes that people experiencing hunger, especially those who are employed, just need to work harder or find a better-paying job to enjoy success.

As a society that proudly embraces the idea of “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps,” identifying a lack of effort as the primary cause of poverty is a comfortable explanation that demands no collective action.

But this justification weakens once you take a closer look at the demographics of hunger. Out of all the people experiencing food insecurity globally, 60% are women (data is a little murkier for womxn, but it’s safe to assume the number only goes up). Numbers are similar nationally. There’s no rational argument that womxn just need to work harder.

Gould’s EPI report ends with a reminder despite little narrowing of the gap in the last thirty years, programs like universal healthcare, affordable or free childcare, and paid leave are proven to make an enormous difference in how women are able to allocate their disproportionately low wages. Although I’m passionate about changing our approach to hunger primarily within the field, it’s important to recognize that we can’t make impactful change until we eliminate the gender compensation gap.

Major thanks to Kern Herron for his significant contributions to this piece.

The opinions expressed here are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of my employer.

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