implications of female headship on the socio-economic status of the household may
differ between countries, and depends on factors such as women's access to income
and basic services, social acceptance of female headship, etc. However, it is widely
recognized that female-headed households are exposed to a higher risk of poverty. A
summary of research findings from 66 studies conducted between 1979 and 1989 by
the International Research Center1 for Women confirms the link between femaleheaded
households and poverty. Forty-four of these studies concluded that womenheaded
households are poorer than the male-headed ones (United Nations, 1995:
34).