The International Women’s Day on 8th March is the occasion for us to shine a light on the situation of older women. Indeed, as the call for more gender equality is readily shared by many people, the reality of progress is more bleak: The Gender Equality Index 2023 shows only slow progress, even though it hit a all-time high in 2023. The situation for older women is similar with a gap in pensions between women and men at 27%. This triggered the Belgian Council Presidency to hold a dedicated conference, which our President Dr Heidrun Mollenkopf attended.
Gender inequality at young age translates into old age inequalities
“Poverty among older women is a result of inequalities in the household, labour market, and state institutions.”
Only when looking at pensions, the causes of the difference in income between women and men are rooted in inequal participation in the labour market and, in particular, in the time dedicated to the care of children, persons with disabilities, and older persons in need for care. This creates a gap in the hours worked, which are related to pension income. Gender segregation in professions – with better-paid professions exercised predominantly by men – and the gender wage gap also play an important role.
‘Gender inequality’ has a real impact on old-age poverty
The gap in poverty rates between women and men over 65 is the highest of all age groups, amounting to 5 percentage points in 2021. The mean monthly earnings of women over 65 are 35% below the earnings of men (source: Gender Equality Index). Many women are not considered at-risk of poverty, which is a household indicator, because they form one household with a better-earning spouse. However, as life expectancy of women exceeds men’s, their financial situation can worsen in later life, when a partner has passed away earlier. Other aspects of inequality also persist in older age: less older women (65+) enjoy self-perceived good health, more older women have unmet needs for medical care (see Gender Equality Index).
There are ways to reduce old-age poverty and the gender gap in pensions!
Our President, Heidrun Mollenkopf, was asked at the high-level Conference on Gender Pension Gap and Pension Adequacy how old-age poverty can be avoided. She emphasised that first and foremost, pensions need to be adequate for all to ensure a dignified life in older age – even for those who were unable to collect sufficient social contributions during their working lives. This will support mainly older women.
Secondly, it is important that unpaid care work, which is often performed by women, is adequately compensated in pension schemes, giving credit to this service given to society.
“This is necessary because even with a rapid expansion and improvement of care services, many women will continue to provide informal care at the expense of their careers.”
Adequate compensation for informal care can also help in encouraging men to take up care work, lowering the gender imbalances. The existing European rules about work-life balance are a first step but do not go far enough in this regard, particularly for care to disabled persons or persons in need of care. Dr Mollenkopf also emphasised that working conditions need to change to allow for working and having a family at the same time.
The EU Care Strategy should provide for better-quality care services for children and persons in need of care, improving access and affordability of these services. This needs investments and efforts from the Member States, so it is only a starting point.
Yet, these measures are only effective for women who have not yet reduced their time in employment to provide care. Therefore, minimum pensions and survivor’s pensions must remain as important pillars of safeguarding older women from poverty. On national level, it is also important to look at laws regarding divorce, so that not only wealth and alimonies for childcare are fairly shared at the moment of divorce, but also statutory and supplementary pension rights regarding the period of common life.
AGE’s concerns shared by employers, employees and other stakeholders
The other speakers of the conference held similar views. Ms Kwiatkiewicz of the employers’ organisation Business Europe emphasised the need to invest into care services to relieve the burden of care from women. Liana Salanauskaite introduced the aspect of transport policies, highlighting that it is often not possible to work full-time and fetch ones’ children in time at schools or care facilities. Also, she emphasised that large parts of women and men have no access to parental leave. Ms Marina Monaco of the European Trade Union Confederation called for more social investment to realise the employment target set in the Action Plan on the European Pillar of Social Rights – she called for a golden rule on social investment in the EU’s economic governance.
Is the EU taking the right way forward?
The Belgian Minister for Pensions and Social Integration, Karine Lalieux, emphasised that Member States should create a working group on the gender pension gap, as they can share many good practices and inspire each other. She also emphasised the importance of implementing the recent Directive on transparency in remuneration (‘Equal Pay Directive’) and the Directive on Work-Life Balance for Parents and Carers.
Taking the fight to the international level: Conference on the Status of Women
In March, the UN will also organise the 68th Conference on the Status of Women in New York, the main occasion for UN Member States to come together and discuss how to advance women’s rights. This year’s conference will address poverty amongst women, an important occasion to highlight that old-age poverty still hit older women in Europe, with one in four women over 75 and one in five women over 55 at risk of poverty and social exclusion. Our member Older Women’s Network Europe will attend the Conference and participate at a side event on poverty among older women.
To conclude…
The fact that there was a high-level conference about the gender pension gap is a positive signal showing the will to change course towards more gender equality, including in older age. The topic is however not new, as there have already been efforts during the Latvian Council Presidency in 2015 on the gender pension gap, with only few outcomes.
Therefore, AGE is pressing strongly for solutions that finally solve the issue of old-age poverty and gender inequality in older age for both current younger and older generations. As one thing is certain: the high rate of poverty and social exclusion among older women calls for immediate action!
Contact
Philippe Seidel Leroy
Policy Manager on Social Protection and European Parliament
