Why is focusing on women so important in addressing issues of poverty and development for poor nations? Why did the various development organizations neglect to do this for so long?

Essay from the year 2006 in the subject Politics - Other International Politics Topics, University of North Florida, language: English, abstract: Poverty is 'the involuntary lack of sufficient resources to provide or exchange for basic necessities' which include food, housing, clothes, schooling and health care (Reeves 131). Development refers to 'social, economic, and political structures and processes' so everybody can equally improve their standard of living by fairly sharing resources (Boulding 179). Unfortunately, it is common that women suffer more from poverty and show a greater lack of development because they often do not have the opportunity to participate in even marginal societal goals. In most instances, women are disregarded, violated or neglected since progress and development aim for and are mostly made by men. Hence, it is important to make poor women better off, improve their rights, provide at least basic requirements, and let them equally seek prosperity and development in order to overall work towards elimination of poverty. In general, poverty is measured with the help of income and consumption. The World Bank, for example, developed two major thresholds in the amount of one U.S. Dollar and two U.S. Dollars respectively in order to show the lowest tier of the poor (Reeves 133).