Women across Europe are more likely than men to experience poverty, with single mothers, older women and immigrant women being particularly vulnerable. Fifteen years after the signing of the Beijing Declaration on the rights of women, there is still a long way to go.

Women are more likely than men to have poor housing, to neglect their health and struggle to find childcare services. Financial instability can cause women to stay with violent men and force others into prostitution and human trafficking, and this gender imbalance is likely to grow in the current economic climate

“Gender neutral language can mask the fact that more women than men are poor,” says Leanda Barrington-Leach of the European Women’s Lobby. “A third of single parents experience poverty, and 80-90 per cent of those single parents are women. The same goes for older people. Women tend to live longer and they don’t have as much savings and security backup as men, so they are often poorer.”

EU action plan

The EU strategy to eradicate, or at least reduce, poverty is to offer members states a framework for action. This strategy includes developing a plan to encourage “active inclusion” national policies, and to promote across Europe the exchange of good practices. The implementation of Europe’s equality and anti-discrimination laws also aims to lift women out of poverty onto a level playing field.

In most EU member states, 17 per cent of women experience poverty compared to 15 per cent of men. Among single parents, 35 per cent live in poverty. The provision of childcare is often inadequate, and maternity leave is not fairly shared between genders, with the result that women lose earnings over this period.

In seven EU countries, women earn 20 per cent less than men in equivalent jobs. The pay gap between men and women throughout their working lives inevitably leaves women with smaller pensions. Currently, 36.8 per cent of women between the ages of 55 and 64 are employed, compared to 55 per cent of men, and European women are four times more likely than men to have part-time jobs, fixed-term contracts or no contracts at all. As a result, some 35 per cent of women aged over 65 risk poverty, compared to 16 per cent of older men.

Root causes

The gender pay gap has various causes, including stereotyping that starts at school. Girls may choose educational directions that lead to jobs traditionally seen as women’s work, such as nursing, teaching infants or as supermarket cashiers. These professions are generally poorly paid.

Women in more competitive environments may find they hit the so-called “glass ceiling” that bars them from managerial and top positions. Women are also more likely than men to take unpaid breaks from work to raise children or care for elderly relatives. All these situations can lead to poverty in old age.

In all age groups, women face a much higher risk than men of poverty after a separation, divorce or the death of their partner. Furthermore, women in all the more vulnerable groups, such as the disabled, immigrants, ethnic minorities or those living in rural areas, are more likely to experience poverty than men.

The economic crisis is likely to see figures for unemployment increase sharply, particularly among public sector workers where women are heavily represented. Funding for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and equality bodies is already being cut in some EU countries, such as Ireland. Women will have fewer places to turn to for assistance.

“It is still too early to see the gender dimension of the recession,” says Ms Barrington-Leach. “At first it seemed to mainly affect men in the car and construction industries, but women are being hit in different ways as they are more economically vulnerable to start off with. Plans for recovery from the recession also offer an opportunity to improve women’s economic lot.”