Part III describes the unique challenges faced by women, racial minorities, and immigrants, the most vulnerable populations in rural America. These groups experience disproportionately high rates of poverty even after accounting for government assistance. Together the chapters underscore how crucial it is that public policies and programs recognize the special circumstances and needs of these vulnerable groups if poverty and social inequities in rural areas are to be reduced.
Chapter 5, “Changing Gender Roles and Rural Poverty,” paves the way by examining changing gender roles and relations in rural America and how these roles are linked to rural poverty. We learn that declining marriage and fertility rates have challenged the traditional roles of women primarily as caretaker and men as breadwinners since the 1950s. The force of the Great Recession of the late 2000s and subsequent loss of stable male employment turned this model on its head for many rural families as women found employment to help make ends meet (mostly low-skill and low-wage) and the unemployed fathers of their children became caretakers.
Chapter 6, “Racial Inequalities and Poverty in Rural America,” explores the role that “racialized” social systems may have had in generating the disproportionately high rates of poverty and the concentrated persistence of poverty among rural racial minority groups. After reviewing the disturbing facts that rates of poverty are higher in general for rural minorities versus rural whites, and that rural minorities also face significantly higher degrees of spatially concentrated poverty, the chapter examines the history of racism and racist rhetoric (e.g., “welfare dependency” for African Americans) that has produced racist institutions (school systems, health care systems, government agencies, etc.) and, consequently, race-bound antipoverty policies. The author underscores the need for “race conscious” research and government intervention in addressing rural poverty.
Chapter 7, “Immigration Trends and Immigrant Poverty in Rural America,” reviews historical trends in immigration to rural America and factors that account for changes in the size and ethnic composition of the rural immigrant population over time. The authors also describe differences in poverty rates between rural counties of varying levels of immigrant populations. We learn that recent immigrants to rural America are at higher risk of poverty than their urban counterparts, largely due to low employment prospects and social and economic isolation in rural communities characterized by “small ethnic populations and residential segregation.” Because current safety net policies largely bar immigrants from participating, their needs are unmet, and the consequences of poverty, especially for their children, are severe.