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having regard to Articles 2 and 3(3) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU),

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having regard to Articles 8, 9, 151, 153 and 157 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU),

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having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (the ‘Charter’) and in particular its provisions on social rights and equality between men and women,

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having regard to the 1979 UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,

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having regard to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the principle of ‘leaving no one behind’, and in particular Goal 1, which seeks to end poverty, Goal 5, which seeks to achieve gender equality and improve living conditions for women, and Goal 8, which seeks to achieve sustainable economic growth,

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having regard to the EU’s growth strategy ‘Europe 2020’, in particular its objective of reducing the number of people in the EU living below national poverty lines by 25 % by 2020, thereby lifting over 20 million people out of poverty, and the need to fully deploy Member States’ social security and pensions systems in order to ensure adequate income support,

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having regard to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention),

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having regard to International Labour Organization Convention No 190 on eliminating violence and harassment in the world of work,

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having regard to the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan,

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having regard to Council Recommendation (EU) 2021/1004 of 14 June 2021 establishing a European Child Guarantee (1),

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having regard to Directive 2006/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006 on the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation (2),

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having regard to Directive (EU) 2019/1158 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on work-life balance for parents and carers (3) (the Work-Life Balance Directive),

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having regard to the Commission communication of 5 March 2020 entitled ‘A Union of Equality: Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025’ (COM(2020)0152),

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having regard to its resolution of 13 October 2005 on women and poverty in the European Union (4),

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having regard to its resolution of 8 March 2011 on the face of female poverty in the European Union (5),

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having regard to its resolution of 13 September 2011 on women entrepreneurship in small and medium-sized enterprises (6),

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having regard to its resolution of 26 May 2016 entitled ‘Poverty: a gender perspective’ (7),

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having regard to its resolution of 4 April 2017 on women and their roles in rural areas (8),

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having regard to its resolution of 14 June 2017 on the need for an EU strategy to end and prevent the gender pension gap (9),

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having regard to its resolution of 3 October 2017 on women’s economic empowerment in the private and public sectors in the EU (10),

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having regard to its resolution of 15 November 2018 on care services in the EU for improved gender equality (11),

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having regard to its resolution of 15 January 2019 on gender equality and taxation policies in the EU (12),

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having regard to its resolution of 30 January 2020 on the gender pay gap (13),

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having regard to its resolution of 21 January 2021 on the gender perspective in the COVID-19 crisis and post-crisis period (14),

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having regard to the resolution of 7 July 2021 entitled ‘An old continent growing older — possibilities and challenges related to ageing policy post-2020’ (15),

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having regard to its resolution of 10 February 2021 on reducing inequalities with a special focus on in-work poverty (16),

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having regard to the Council conclusions of 10 December 2019 entitled ‘Gender-Equal Economies in the EU: The Way Forward’,

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having regard to the report of 5 March 2020 by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) entitled ‘Beijing + 25: the fifth review of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action in the EU Member States’,

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having regard to the report of 27 May 2020 by the International Labour Organization entitled ‘COVID-19 and the world of work. Fourth edition’,

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having regard to the policy brief of 15 July 2021 by Eurofound and the EIGE entitled ‘Upward convergence in gender equality: How close is the Union of equality?’,

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having regard to the study of December 2017 by Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs of the Directorate-General for Internal Policies entitled ‘Gender perspective on access to energy in the EU’,

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having regard to the EIGE’s 2019 and 2020 Gender Equality Indexes,

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having regard to the position paper of June 2021 by Make Mothers Matter entitled ‘Mothers’ Poverty in the EU’,

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having regard to the assessment of the Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy 2021 and Proposal for a Joint Employment Report 2021 of February 2021 by the European Anti-Poverty Network entitled ‘Working towards a Socially Inclusive and Poverty-proof Recovery from the COVID-19 Pandemic’,

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having regard to the study of 19 May 2021 by Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs of the Directorate-General for Internal Policies entitled ‘COVID-19 and its economic impact on women and women’s poverty: Insight from 5 European Countries’,

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having regard to the study of 14 June 2021 by Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs of the Directorate-General for Internal Policies entitled ‘Gender equality: Economic value of care from the perspective of the applicable EU funds’,

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having regard to its resolution of 14 April 2016 on meeting the anti-poverty targets in the light of increasing household costs (17) and the opinion of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality thereon,

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having regard to the work of the EU Platform on Combatting Homelessness, launched in June 2021,

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having regard to Rule 54 of its Rules of Procedure,

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having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs,

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having regard to the report of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (A9-0194/2022),

A.

whereas gender equality is a core value of the Union enshrined in Article 2 TEU; whereas Article 8 TFEU lays down the principle of gender mainstreaming;

B.

whereas the eradication of poverty is one of the priorities of the EU, enshrined in Article 3 TEU and in Article 34 of the Charter, and is a headline target in the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) action plan, reflecting the EU’s commitment to combat poverty in its policies;

C.

whereas in the EU, the number of women in poverty is still higher than the number of men in poverty (18); whereas despite a reduction in poverty in the EU among both women and men, women continue to be disproportionally more affected by poverty and the risk of social exclusion than men, in particular women who experience intersectional forms of discrimination; whereas in 2020, the risk of poverty and social exclusion (AROPE) in the EU was higher for women (22,9 %) than men (20,9 %), though in both cases it has decreased since 2015 (24,9 % and 23,1 % respectively); whereas since 2017, the gender-poverty gap has increased in 21 Member States (19); whereas according to the data, poverty rates among women vary greatly between Member States; whereas owing to the strong correlation between female poverty and child poverty, 1 in 4 children in the EU are at risk of poverty or social exclusion;

D.

whereas according to estimates for 2019 in the EU-27, women are particularly affected by the risk of poverty (AROPE), with the poverty rate standing at 17,1 % after social transfers; whereas since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, women have been disproportionately affected in the socioeconomic sphere, including, in some cases, by loss of employment; whereas the employment rate of women has even fallen more sharply than it did during the 2008 recession; whereas this is, among other things, due to the increase of unpaid care, domestic and educational work carried out mainly by women, and has also resulted in an increase in women’s poverty; whereas even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of people in temporary and part-time posts were women, especially in the service sector, and whereas the pandemic has reinforced this trend; whereas the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are not yet fully comprehended and whereas the socioeconomic impact will continue to be experienced in the coming years; whereas it is therefore essential to examine female poverty in context of the handling and aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis; whereas measures taken to exit the financial crisis of 2008 have not been sufficient to reduce women’s poverty; whereas reductions in funding for social public services and lower wages disproportionality affect women, owing to their greater reliance on social public services and allowances;

E.

whereas gender mainstreaming means taking into account the gender differences within the whole policy cycle and adding an intersectional approach taking into account diversity among women and men when designing, implementing and evaluating policies, programmes and projects in order to enhance gender equality; whereas until now EU policies have not deployed real mainstreamed policies or included an intersectional approach;

F.

whereas Article 3(3) TEU commits the Union to combating ‘social exclusion and discrimination’ and promoting ‘social justice and protection [and] equality between women and men’ in line with the social market economy concept; whereas the European Pillar of Social Rights action plan has the specific aim of reducing the number of people at risk of poverty by at least 15 million by 2030, including 5 million children; whereas the social, green and gender equality agendas are interlinked and share the goals of ensuring sustainable growth and a fair distribution of resources; whereas the discussions on the review of the current EU model of socioeconomic governance should take into consideration the EU’s commitment to reduce inequalities and eradicate poverty, in particular women’s poverty;

G.

whereas the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Olivier De Schutter, has pointed out that European Union should develop an EU-wide anti-poverty strategy that ensures a structural, broad approach to eradicating female poverty; whereas a fairer social contract is needed for the post-pandemic European Union, including economic policies aimed at decreasing economic inequalities;

H.

whereas parental poverty often leads to child poverty; whereas investing in policies to support women also improves the living conditions of their families, and in particular of their children; whereas the EU and the Member States must respect, protect and fulfil the rights of children in line with the TEU; whereas the rights of children are jeopardised in situations of poverty; whereas eradicating child poverty is included in Principle 11 of the EPSR;

I.

whereas single-parent families are at greater risk of poverty and social exclusion and bear a higher probability of transmission of poverty over several generations; whereas 85 % of single-parent families are headed by women; whereas in 2020, 42,1 % of the EU population living in single-adult households with dependent children were at risk of poverty or social exclusion;

J.

whereas women's poverty is the result of a lifetime of discrimination; whereas gender stereotypes still influence the division of labour at home, in education, in the workplace and in society and access to power and decision-making; whereas unpaid care and domestic work, which are mostly carried out by women, imposes a disproportionate burden on women; whereas globally, women make up over 70 % of workers in the health and care sector; whereas these kinds of jobs have systematically been undervalued because they have been, and still are, performed for free by women within households; whereas women have lower pay than men; whereas women have more part-time contracts due to time poverty; whereas women are suffering in-work poverty that leads to higher risks of poverty and social exclusion due to low labour intensity;

K.

whereas due consideration should be given to the recommendations of the EPSR on gender equality, equal opportunities and active support to employment;

L.

whereas women’s poverty is multidimensional and for this reason we need to combat all causes and consequences of all facets of women’s poverty, including material deprivation, but also the lack of access to different resources and services, which limits their ability to fully enjoy their citizenship; whereas female poverty is directly influenced by the lack of fair valuation of work mainly carried out by women, career breaks due to maternity leave or care responsibilities, unequal sharing of unpaid caring responsibilities and domestic work and segregation in education and subsequently in the labour market; whereas women’s poverty results in their exclusion from certain social and political aspects of life; whereas at the same time, the lack of adequate access to resources and services increases women’s risk of falling into or remaining in poverty, which shows the mutual interdependence between poverty and social and political exclusion;

M.

whereas the impact of poverty on women and men differs and whereas indicators to better understand the feminisation of poverty such as age, life expectancy, income inequality, the gender pay gap, type of household and social transfers therefore also need to be considered; whereas synergies between various actions carried out and political measures supporting gender equality in employment, education, taxation policies and housing can help to combat deep-rooted causes of poverty and social exclusion more effectively;

N.

whereas there is an increased risk of poverty and social exclusion among some groups of women such as single mothers, women above the age of 65, women with disabilities, women with low levels of education and women from migrant backgrounds;

O.

whereas women outnumber men at older ages within the EU-27 population; whereas in 2019, there were more than twice as many very old women (aged 85 years or more) as very old men; whereas ageing developments will have profound implications for governments, business and civil society, impacting especially health and social care systems, labour markets, public finances and pension entitlements;

P.

whereas figures show that on average in the EU 29,5 % of women with disabilities are at risk of falling victim to poverty and social exclusion, compared with 27,5 % of their male counterparts;

Q.

whereas women from more vulnerable groups, such as young women, women with disabilities, women with a migrant background, Roma women, women from religious or ethnic minorities, as well as LBTQI+ women, face additional and intersecting forms of discrimination when accessing education, healthcare, employment and social services, and are therefore exposed to a higher risk of poverty;

R.

whereas Roma people face discrimination in accessing employment initiatives such as the Youth Guarantee; whereas public employment services often lack the capacity to reach them or apply indirect discrimination practices;

S.

whereas, in relation to poverty data, the statistical household unit defines poverty within households, and does not consider the gender inequalities in the internal distribution of resources, making it difficult to obtain reliable gender-disaggregated data;

T.

whereas women's poverty increases the risk of homelessness, lack of access to adequate housing and energy poverty; whereas policy measures tailored specifically to single parents are needed;

U.

whereas gender equality in the labour market is an important instrument for eliminating poverty among women that benefits not only women but the economy as a whole, with a positive impact on GDP, employment levels and productivity; whereas improving gender equality would lead to an increase in EU GDP per capita of between 6,1 and 9,6 % and an additional 10,5 million jobs, which would benefit both women and men, by 2050;

V.

whereas although work in highly female-dominated sectors is essential and of high socioeconomic value, it is undervalued and lower paid than work in male-dominated sectors; whereas there is an urgent need to reassess the adequacy of wages in female-dominated sectors related to their social and economic value and to move forward on minimum wages, minimum income and pay transparency in EU regulations;

W.

whereas the right to work is an essential precondition if women are to enjoy economic independence, professional fulfilment and effective equal rights;

X.

whereas the average gender employment gap stands at 11,5 %, with women disproportionally highly represented in low-paid, precarious job sectors; whereas women are more represented in flexible work forms, atypical and flexible contracts (part-time work, temporary work, etc.); whereas women face pregnancy and maternity discrimination; whereas the gender pay gap stood at 14,1 % at EU level in 2019, though there were significant differences between Member States (20); whereas the gender gap in earnings has increased in 17 Member States since 2010, while the gender gap in income has gone up in 19 Member States, leading to an overall increase in gender inequality in earnings and income in the EU (21); whereas about 10 % of the working population in the EU is at risk of poverty, and it is mainly women who are paid minimum wage or less than a living wage, owing, among other things, to the greater involvement of women in the informal economy; whereas combating undeclared work and setting adequate and fair levels of minimum wages that provide for a decent standard of living can help to reduce wage inequality, the gender pay gap and female poverty;

Y.

whereas the European Social Charter recognises the right of all workers, and therefore also female workers, to fair remuneration that is sufficient for a decent standard of living for themselves and their families, and the right to equal pay for work of equal value; whereas, furthermore, it establishes the right to protection against poverty and social exclusion, and it is contributing to reducing the existing pay gap between men and women;

Z.

whereas the rate of trans people in paid employment is only 51 %, compared with 69,3 % of the general population; whereas unemployment is a particular issue for trans women, who are nearly three times as likely to be unemployed as the general population average (22);

AA.

whereas only 20,7 % of women with disabilities and 28,6 % of men with disabilities are in full-time employment; whereas in some Member States, persons with disabilities often lose their disability entitlements upon taking up employment, which increases their risk of in-work poverty;

AB.

whereas the gender pension gap averaged 29,4 % in 2019 (23) as a result of the imbalances created by persistent lifelong inequalities; whereas this pension gap means that women are more likely to fall below the poverty line as they get older, also bearing in mind that female life expectancy is longer than male life expectancy, deepening the consequences of poverty and social exclusion; whereas greater labour inclusion throughout a person’s lifetime will help to close the gender pension gap;

AC.

whereas the technological and digital revolution we are witnessing is increasing digital progress and new business opportunities and whereas this technological and digital revolution is changing economic patterns, social systems and the labour market; whereas everyone in our society, especially women, must have the chance to participate in this prosperity;

AD.

whereas policies targeted at increasing the participation of women in the fields related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and artificial intelligence, and the adoption of a multi-level approach to address the gender gap at all levels of education and employment in the digital sector need to be further promoted;

AE.

whereas girls outperform boys in school but often encounter greater difficulties or are prevented from translating this educational success into professional accomplishment by family and other pressures;

AF.

whereas women who live in rural areas are particularly affected by poverty; whereas many women who live in rural areas are not even registered on the labour market or as unemployed; whereas the rate of unemployment among women in rural areas is extremely high, and those who are employed have very low incomes; whereas women in rural areas have limited access to education;

AG.

whereas a common EU approach to the care sector, in addition to Member State policies, would create significant added value; whereas women take on unpaid care work more often than men, and caring for children or dependants is therefore one of the most common reasons for women to reduce their working hours or withdraw from the labour market; whereas women more regularly put their careers on hold or take on short-term, part-time, precarious or even informal employment that can be adapted to a caregiving schedule, which affects their earnings and their contributions to their pension funds and thus has an impact on their economic independence in old age; whereas universal access to high-quality healthcare and social services and facilities at affordable prices, such as early childhood care and education or care for other dependants, is not only key for avoiding increasing poverty, especially for women, but is also critical for an economy that serves the public interest; whereas investment in these services therefore has a positive impact on women’s economic independence and their ability to participate in the labour market; whereas social protection measures are absolutely key for tackling female poverty, not only economically but also in its multidimensionality;

AH.

whereas poverty exacerbates the impacts of gender-based violence on women as increased economic difficulties make it hard for women in abusive relationships to leave their partner; whereas gender-based violence is a structural problem that can be found across all socioeconomic groups and is independent of origin or belief; whereas poverty puts women at greater risk of trafficking and sexual exploitation as it makes them and their families economically dependent on their abusers; whereas gender-based violence also contributes to poverty and social exclusion as violence has consequences for health and can lead to the loss of one’s job and homelessness;

AI.

whereas harassment at the workplace, including sexual and psychological harassment, of which women are usually the victims, has a deterrent effect on women, including increased absenteeism, reduced productivity and consequently loss of income and contributes to driving them out of the labour market, which has a negative impact on an individual’s career and economic independence; whereas reporting harassment at the workplace can lead to dismissal or isolation of the victim;

AJ.

whereas it is estimated that currently 1 in 10 girls cannot afford sanitary products; whereas in its resolution of 15 January 2019 on gender equality and taxation policies in the EU, Parliament called on all Member States to eliminate the so-called care and tampon tax by making use of the flexibility introduced in the VAT Directive and by applying tax exemptions or 0 % VAT rates to these essential basic goods;

AK.

whereas Russia’s war against Ukraine is resulting in a further increase in poverty, especially among women, both because it forces Ukrainian women and children to flee to neighbouring countries and due to the rising prices of basic services and goods that all Europeans are experiencing, but which particularly affect those who already have fewer resources;

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