Fredman, Sandra

Women and Poverty - A Human Rights Approach

Women form the majority world’s poorest people and women in poverty is a complex problem. In this article the author calls for a gendered human rights approach to poverty. The author looks in particular at how, in many countries around the world, the law contributes to women’s poverty, both through legal limitations and customary discrimination.

Engendering Socio-Economic Rights

Sandra Fredman argues that the mere extension of socio-economic rights to women is insufficient to achieve equality. In order for those rights to be meaningful, they need to be 'engendered' or infused with substantive gender equality. This better addresses the ability of women to exercise their rights. She argues that socio-economic rights should be re-conceptualized; rather than viewing rights as extending 'bundles of goods' in fixed amounts, socio-economic rights should be understood as capabilities.