38 Amendments of Julie WARD related to 2015/2223(INI)
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas women and their dependent children are disproportionately at risk of poverty and social exclusion, andwith the economic crisis and austerity policies have exacerbateding these inequalities, leading to a ‘'feminisation of poverty’; whereas income distribution within households is unequal and gendered, requiring individualised measurements of income and costs'; whereas the number of people at risk of poverty and social exclusion in Europe has increased in recent years, with more women at risk than men; whereas income distribution within households is unequal and gendered, requiring individualised measurements of income and costs; whereas dependent children, elderly people, or other vulnerable persons who depend on women's informal caregiving are also disproportionately at risk of poverty and social exclusion;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas a strong new political impetus is required if the 2020 poverty targets are to be met; whereas the aggregate of current national poverty reduction targets falls eight million people short of the 2020 target; whereas the review of the 2020 strategy is the appropriate time for a firm renewed commitment to the elimination of poverty and social exclusion, and the reform and realignment of national strategies;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the intersectionality of the gender aspects of poverty requires a holistic approach to tackle multiple discrimination, and issues such as housing, energy costs, public services, job security, precarious employment, and taxation policies;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas data-collection and policy making on poverty, living costs and income on the basis of households as constituent units assumes uniformity and equal distribution of resources between members of the household; whereas in practice households vary, and distribution can be unequal and gendered, requiring an approach to policy making based on individual costs and income;
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas 17% single-parent households, overwhelmingly women, are unable to keep their houses warm, compared to only 10% of the general population; whereas wholesale energy prices have decreased, while retail prices have increased, pushing costs upwards; whereas an EU-wide definition of energy poverty is regretfully lacking, while the phenomenon affects women disproportionately;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion
Recital C c (new)
Recital C c (new)
Cc. whereas rising household costs and housing cost overburden is one of the drivers of women's homelessness, more research is required into the rates and causes of women losing or leaving their homes; whereas household and individual indebtedness is directly related to household costs, and is a key driver of poverty and social exclusion;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Recital C d (new)
Recital C d (new)
Cd. whereas poverty and social exclusion, including gender-based exclusion, should not only be defined in terms of income, material deprivation and work intensity, but also in terms of what the individual requires in order to live in dignity and participate actively in society, culturally, socially, and politically;
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Expresses deep concern at the Commission’'s assessment that the 2020 anti-poverty target ‘'seems out of reach’' and insists on fresh political impetus for drastic action to tackle poverty in the EU; calls on the Member States to ensure that national poverty strategies are gender mainstreamed and address gender inequali, requiring a holistic EU-wide poverty strategy highlighting the gender aspects of poverty;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Highlights the growing gap in poverty between Member States across the Union, and the increase in extreme poverty, notably female poverty, particularly in crisis hit countries and regions;
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Urges Member States to rectify their national poverty strategies in a coordinated fashion so that the European target can be met; Calls on the Member States to ensure that national poverty strategies are gender mainstreamed and address gender inequality; Requests that each Member State to provide a detailed trajectory of its poverty-reduction plan, and how its strategy addresses gender- specific aspects of poverty and social exclusion;
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1c. Calls for a Council recommendation to tackle poverty which includes a strong gender perspective;
Amendment 40 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 d (new)
Paragraph 1 d (new)
1d. Emphasises that poverty is generational and self-reproducing, requiring an intersectional holistic long- term approach to policy making, taking into account costs and income, as well as public services provision; Insists that poverty and social exclusion must be evaluated and tackled throughout the life- cycle, from childhood through to old age;
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 e (new)
Paragraph 1 e (new)
1e. Considers that women's longer life expectancy must also be taken into account as a potential factor in vulnerability and exclusion;
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 f (new)
Paragraph 1 f (new)
1f. Notes that the gender pay and pension gap are key contributors to female poverty; Notes the long-term impacts on female poverty of women's exclusion from sectors of the economy traditionally dominated by men, such as technology, science, senior management and decision- making, and over-representation of women in comparatively low-wage sectors such as care work, public services, part time work, and low-paid precarious work;
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 g (new)
Paragraph 1 g (new)
1g. Reiterates that children are at greater risk of poverty and social exclusion due to female poverty, particularly in single- parent households, leading to greater long-term socio-economic inequalities;
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Urges the Commission to incorporate a more robust social dimension and a gender pillar in the European Semester, and to include country-specific recommendations (CSRs) which address the gender aspects of poverty; Calls on the Commission to ensure policy coherence so that social and economic policies compliment rather than counter-act one another;
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Invites the Commission to give a clear and ambitious definition of a 'social triple A' for Europe, which includes a clear strategy for combatting gendered aspects of social exclusion;
Amendment 53 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Stresses that in the fight against poverty and social exclusion target policies must be deployed to address the particular circumstances of vulnerable groups and marginalised communities, facing specific forms of gender inequalities and multiple discrimination; Calls on the Commission and Member States to continue to develop policies addressing the poverty and social exclusion faced by women with disabilities, elderly women, refugee and migrant women, Roma women, and women from ethnic minorities, women in rural areas and in deprived neighbourhoods, single mothers, as well as female college and university students;
Amendment 57 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls for more ambitious action to tackle energy poverty, which disproportionately affects single women, single-parent and female-headed households;
Amendment 59 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Urges the Commission and Member States to establish a definition of energy poverty which takes into account gendered aspects of the phenomenon, and include it in the future recast of the Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings;
Amendment 61 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Notes that increasing energy efficiency, renovation, and renewable energy are all key to tackling energy poverty; Expresses concern that housing renovation policies often fail to target those who are most vulnerable; Insists that housing renovation policies must target poor, economically excluded and vulnerable households first and foremost, with an emphasis on those facing gender inequalities and multiple discrimination;
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3c. Highlights the role of local authorities in tackling energy poverty, and the potential of alternative funding mechanisms such as cooperatives and mutuals in alleviating the distress of vulnerable consumers;
Amendment 63 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 d (new)
Paragraph 3 d (new)
3d. Considers that policy on energy poverty at EU, national, and local levels must strive to empower the most vulnerable consumers, particularly those facing gender inequalities and multiple discrimination, and guarantee equitable pricing overall; Calls on the Commission to make cohesion and structural funds, including the European Social Fund, available to tackle energy poverty;
Amendment 67 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Emphasises that cuts to public services increase gender inequality, and that investment in high-quality services has the potential to reduce inequalities; stresses that macroeconomic policy must be compatible with social equality policy, and that it must include a strong gender perspective;
Amendment 68 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Calls on financial institutions such as the ECB and national central banks to take into account social impacts, including impacts on gender inequalities, when modelling and deciding on of macroeconomic monetary policies;
Amendment 71 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Stresses that the Commission promote best practice on taxation policy that takes gender impacts into account, and promotes gender equality, particularly VAT, and taxation of household income, which at times can subject lower earners to higher taxation;
Amendment 76 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Urges a move towards the individualisation of rights in social equality policy, where costs and income are calculated on an individual basis, and relevant data collected on an individual basis, rather than in terms of household.
Amendment 78 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Reiterates the need for investment in sustainable and inclusive growth at national and European levels, and the need for gender budgeting in all areas of public policy and social investment.
Amendment 79 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Emphasises the importance of education, formal, non-formal, and informal, in combatting the stigmatisation of poverty, which adds to social exclusion, as well as the gender stereotypes which contribute to women's poverty and exclusion.
Amendment 81 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5c. Reiterates the important of the empowerment of women and girls through education, including formal and informal education, life-long learning and vocational training, and the role of education in increasing women's income through their inclusion in sectors where women have been under-represented, such as science, technology, engineering, and entrepreneurship.
Amendment 82 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 d (new)
Paragraph 5 d (new)
5d. Notes that economic and financial education at a young age has been shown to improve economic decision-making later in life, including in managing costs and incomes; Recommends exchange of best practice and the promotion of such educational programmes targeting women and girls in vulnerable groups and marginalised communities facing poverty and social exclusion.
Amendment 83 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 e (new)
Paragraph 5 e (new)
5e. Calls on the Commission, EIGE, and Member States, to undertake research into female homelessness and its causes and drivers, as the phenomenon is inadequately captured in current data; Notes that gender-specific elements that ought to be taken into account include gender-based economic dependency, temporary housing, or avoidance of social services.
Amendment 84 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 f (new)
Paragraph 5 f (new)
5f. Highlights the importance of access to financial services and information for women's economic empowerment and social inclusion; Calls for Member States and local authority programmes and exchange of best practice on facilitating access to financial services and information for women in vulnerable groups and marginalised communities, where even the ability to open a bank account can be an obstacle to inclusion, for example for refugee, immigrant, homeless or Roma women.
Amendment 85 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 g (new)
Paragraph 5 g (new)
5g. Calls on the Commission to take steps to tackle over-indebtedness faced by women in poor and excluded households, by combating loan-sharks and pay day loans, predatory and excessive interest rates, and other abusive practices, and by facilitating sound financial advice, and social debt restructuring.
Amendment 86 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 h (new)
Paragraph 5 h (new)
5h. Points out the important role of social enterprise and alternative business models such as cooperatives and mutuals in facilitating social inclusion and economic empowerment of women, particularly in marginalised communities, and their increased economic independence.
Amendment 87 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 i (new)
Paragraph 5 i (new)
5i. Supports the initiative to formulate a guideline reference budget, and calls on the Commission to include gender- specific considerations when designing it, including gender inequalities faced within households.
Amendment 88 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 j (new)
Paragraph 5 j (new)
5j. Calls on Member States and the Commission to address female poverty and social exclusion through initiatives to guarantee high-quality jobs with a living wage in female dominated sectors; Highlights the role that trade unions can play in the representation and empowerment of women in the work place, and combatting exclusion.
Amendment 89 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 k (new)
Paragraph 5 k (new)
5k. Invites the Commission and Member States to create stakeholder engagement and deliberative processes that promote and facilitate the direct engagement of persons at risk of poverty and social inclusion, particularly women and girls, in policy making on social inclusion at all levels.