The Jamaica Gleaner (2017) reports that female-headed households represent the majority of mean household size compared to male-headed households. Additionally, female-headed households were also represented in the poorest quintiles (exact figures were not reported). Traditionally, parenting responsibilities and family care lies heavily on the female. In recent years, the female role has expanded to include meeting the financial needs of the family as well as the source of emotional support. Similarly, demographic profile from STRiDE Jamaica’s work package 4 of participants thus far and consistent with global literature, carers who participated were predominantly females (78.9%).

References:

The Jamaica Gleaner. (2017). Poverty climbed back to 21% in 2015. Available from: https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/business/20171008/poverty-climbed-back-21-2015