Combating poverty and the risk of poverty among women is a moral obligation for all EU member states. There is the need to raise awareness of the negative impact of poverty on women, the family and society, and to take action.
The UN General Assembly designated October 17 as the International Day of the Eradication of Poverty to promote awareness of the need to eradicate poverty and destitution in all countries. Women and Poverty in the EU is being addressed by the EU institutions to encourage a wider debate on the nature of poverty.
The opinion on Poverty among Women in Europe (SOC/207), carried out by the Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), in response to the European Parliament's request on the subject, significantly revealed the need to understand better the impact of poverty on women in Europe.
A clear definition of poverty is necessary as, so far, society tends to highlight the more obvious causes of poverty and underestimates the level of poverty among women and the impact of that poverty.
The current definition assumes that household resources are shared equally within the family, but poverty is experienced at an individual level and should be analysed at that level, if the gender dimension is to be understood
Changes in society
Changes in demography and society are witnessing a sharp decrease in the size of Europe's working population. People aged 65 and over represent 16 per cent of the total population, while those below 15 represent 17 per cent and life expectancy is growing.
Over the next 15 years, the number of people aged over 80 will rise by almost 50 per cent (Joint report by the Commission on Social Inclusion, March 5, 2005).
Household structures are also changing. There are fewer and later marriages, more marriage breakdowns and also a decline in the number of couples with children. These developments have led to smaller households across all age ranges.
The increase in women's financial independence through job opportunities outside the home means that there is a move from the 'patriarchal marriage' - with the male as earner and the woman as dependant - towards 'marriage as a partnership'.
Another major change is the rise in the number of children living with one adult. In 2000, 10 per cent of children aged 0-14 were living with just one adult compared with six per cent in 1990. This is the result of the rise in marital and relationship breakdowns, and in unplanned pregnancies.
Labour market and poverty and social exclusion among women
Employment is a key factor for social inclusion and considered as the single most effective route out of poverty not only because it generates income but also because it can promote social participation and personal development.
Women in paid labour are still at risk of poverty, as participation in the labour market is accompanied by important difficulties including balancing domestic and work responsibilities, tendencies towards segregation and sectorisation of female employment, the prevalence of precarious forms of employment with limited social protection and the pay gap between men and women.
Mothers' level of education
Employment patterns with a lengthy break while caring for young children is more likely for mothers with low educational qualifications. While graduate mothers have a shorter break from the labour market, the behaviour of women with no qualifications has changed.
Mothers with no qualifications are more likely to break from the labour market until the child goes to school, whereas those with a degree are more likely to take only maternity leave and pay for their child to be looked after by someone else.
Therefore women with lower educational qualifications are more likely to take longer breaks and also have the lowest earning potential before having children, so they are the most heavily penalised.
Lone parenthood
The number of lone parents has been increasing and data show that lone parents have a particular risk of suffering from poverty. Because 85 per cent of lone parents are women, this risk of poverty is gender-specific.
Only 50 per cent are in work compared with 68 per cent of married women. Lone parents out of work generally lack marketable qualifications. Many lone parents have to look after their children themselves and look for jobs with hours that enable them to spend as much time with their children as possible, to combine parenting with employment.
As a result many of them are forced to settle for precarious, low-paid employment with a lower level of social protection.
Female heads of lone-parent households who are 18 and under are particularly at risk of poverty. Teenage parents are more likely than their peers to be living in poverty and unemployment and have difficulty escaping mainly due to lack of education.
Member states have made reducing the incidence of teenage parenthood a priority as it offers an opportunity to minimise the likelihood of poverty and its perpetuation from one generation to the next
In-work poverty
The increase in women's participation in the labour market is the result of the increase in non-standard types of work, such as part-time, flexible hours, shift work and term time. Part-time employment among women is 27 per cent on average as against just four per cent for men (Eurostat European Labour Force Survey 2003).
The part-time gender wage gap is greater than the full-time one. Those with low educational qualifications, undeclared workers, minorities and migrants with little or no independent legal status are particularly at risk of poverty because the jobs they have tend to be low-paying and low status with no job security
Pensions
Women's disadvantages in the labour market and the resultant pay gap extend into retirement. This is because the pension model in many member states was developed from a male perspective, discriminating against women as many take career breaks, work in non-standard employment or have periods of unpaid work.
As a result, many face disadvantage in building the necessary rights and savings to enjoy security in old age. Two-thirds of pensioners are women, and their average income is 53 per cent of that of a man, which can impact on their health, housing and quality of life.
Seventy-five per cent of pensioners receiving income-related welfare payment are women. The result is that older women, including widows, make up the poorest pensioners.
Different retirement criteria to ensure equal treatment in first pillar social security systems need to be considered, including pensions systems that ensure gender equality with the long-term goal being individualisation of pensions.
Education dimension
Job choices and entry into employment are controlled by qualifications. Women who are better qualified more often have a job than those less well qualified. Better qualified women with children generally remain in employment.
However, there is a marked difference between women who have children and those who do not have childcare responsibilities. In the EU-25 the comparison between these two groups of women is as follows: no children, 88 per cent vs 57 per cent; one to two children, 80 per cent vs 43 per cent; and three or more children, 63 vs 22 per cent.
The curriculum is geared towards subject choices that are heavily gendered, with girls choosing subject courses and careers that are poorly paid, and with teachers and career advisers lacking training to consider or acknowledge the importance of gender issues.
Those most at risk from this segregation are girls within households already at risk of poverty and represented in low status jobs due to their low educational attainment. These women are constrained in their job choices due to the interaction of poverty and gender throughout their educational careers, which not only impacts on their working lives and retirement but can result in a cycle of intergenerational poverty
Initiatives and solutions
Reappraisal of policies regarding poverty among women and addressing shortcomings is a priority. National Action Plans should include the identification and monitoring of gender-specific indicators, as there are significant differences between men and women with regard to poverty.
Many member states have significantly strengthened their institutional arrangements for mainstreaming poverty and social inclusion policy making.
The National Commission for the Promotion of Equality between Women and Men (NCPE) has been addressing a number of these issues through its varied initiatives. At the national level more should be done to include social partners and NGOs in policy development and implementation, especially in the area of education, employment and pensions.
The European Institute for Gender is to be opened in 2007. As gender is neglected in policies aimed at addressing poverty in the EU, it follows that the relationship between gender and poverty has been relatively neglected in research and statistical literature. The institute can only bring about change if it is equipped with adequate budgetary resources.
Among major recent initiatives to address some of these issues is the agreement between the European Social Partners, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and he European Employers' Organisations (UNICE/ UEAPME and CEEP), who negotiated two autonomous agreements on telework and work-related stress, two frameworks of action on lifelong learning and gender equality, and developed a programme to assist social partners of the new member states joining in the EU social dialogue.
The work programme also reflects a second evolution: the use of new tools to be implemented at national level (autonomous agreement, framework of action) requiring active involvement by national social partners.
The Commission's Roadmap for Equality between Women and Men for 2006-2010, which builds on the experience of the Framework Strategy for equality between women and men (COM[2000] 335), sets out a number of priorities to meet the challenges of globalisation, an aging population, a low birth rate and maintaining sustainable social protection systems.
These priorities include the economic independence of women and men, reconciliation between work and private life, balanced participation between women and men in decision making, the elimination of violence and trafficking, the elimination of stereotypes and the promotion of equality beyond the EU.
The European Parliament will be voting on the Roadmap on November 24.
All these actions are a clear demonstration of the increasing importance that needs to be given to gender equality legislation and measures to safeguard women from poverty and the risk of poverty. Involving men in the process needs to be adequately addressed as 'partnership' in today's lifestyles requires ownership of both men and women in seeking solutions.
However, the key factor remains education - we must ensure that national policies create the opportunities for women to access education, vocational training - in short, lifelong learning programmes - at all stages in their life.
We need to evaluate the position of women in Malta in relation to the areas identified above and address our shortcomings. The 2007 Budget has strengthened measures to facilitate women's participation in the labour market together with a number of measures that support the family.
As much as possible, incentives and benefits to alleviate poverty must be geared towards economic return. The active participation of women as opposed to passive receivers of benefits is a unique source of development not only for women but for our society to be in a better position to meet the global challenges of today.
Mrs Attard is a member of the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality.