Poverty is a global problem. Despite its universal character and structural nature, the ways in which poverty is perceived, experienced and explained are all affected by gendered and local cultural views. Qualitative research on poverty is based on the assumption that the local, indigenous, lay knowledge is a necessary and complementary source of information for understanding and finding sustainable solutions to the problem. The uniqueness of this approach is that it enables reaching the voices of individuals while still being able to arrive at a level of generalization which can inform further research.
ln other words such theory-rich research method has the potential to both reach voices of people living in poverty, who generally, do not take part in the poverty discourse, and enhance the knowledge base of the poverty phenomenon, by providing theory grounded in data. Drawing on findings from several qualitative studies conducted among people living in poverty from diverse cultural communities in lsrael, this presentation looks at the role of gender and culture in the representation of poverty and discusses their further impact on the social construction of coping. At the theoretical level, the presentation will contribute to the conceptualization of a grounded theory of poverty and coping. Finally, methodological and practical implications will be discussed.
