29 Amendments of Ewa KOPACZ related to 2023/2066(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Observes that disparities across the EU have been exacerbated by thecrises are not gender-neutral and that social and gender inequalities across the EU have been exacerbated as a result of several consecutive crises such as the impact of COVID- 19 pandemic, the war of aggression against Ukraine, climate change related disasters and the current rise in living and energy costs, and have negatively affected children and their families in terms of income, access to employment, living conditions, healthcare, education, and skills and access to carehousing, basic goods and services care or social and other services, thus in terms of their general wellbeing;
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Highlights that the current cost-of- living crisis has acutely threatened women’s livelihoods, health and wellbeing putting them and their families at risk of not being able to access housing, limiting their purchasing power and ability to provide food and aggravating situations of energy poverty, social exclusion and inequalities; highlights that women and children facing intersectional discrimination experience additional barriers in accessing basic social services; stresses that special attention must be placed on tackling the effects of biases in accessing these services due to persisting stereotypes and in addressing the effects of parental poverty leading to child poverty, and that investing in measures to support women also improves the living conditions of their children; notes in this connection that single parents are at greater risk of crisis-driven poverty, more likely to pass it on from generation to generation, and that 85% of single-parent families are female-headed; calls on the Member States to support measures monitoring the prices of energy, transport and other essential goods in order to reduce the impact of the rise in the cost of living especially on women, children and their families;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 d (new)
Paragraph 1 d (new)
1d. Notes that efforts to bring about a truly equal society and thus gender equality policies often fall short in times of crisis; calls on Member States to prioritise policies and investments that counteract the negative effects of such crisis on children, women and their families, ensuring access to high quality services on care, education, health or housing services, including protection of victims of gender-based violence; stresses the importance of a systematic gender perspective for analysing those problems and their differing impacts and for holistic and fair solutions; notes the socio-economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the increase in all forms of violence towards women as noticed in various reports from several Member States, during and after the COVID-19 lockdown revealing a worrying increase in domestic and gender-based violence, including physical violence, psychological violence and cyber violence; points out that children are also affected and at risk; points out the risks of being victims of violence for some vulnerable categories, such as women asylum seekers or the LGBTQIA+ community; stresses the need to step up all resources, public and private, in order to tackle situations posing a risk to children, young or older people, people with disabilities and support groups at risk of poverty; calls to strengthen the ESF+ to prioritise the fight against poverty and social exclusion; stresses the need for increased funding for actions aimed at preventing and combating gender-based violence under the DAPHNE specific objective within the CERV programme;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Observes that disparities across the EU have been exacerbated by the COVID- 19 pandemic, the war of aggression against Ukraine and the current rise in living costs and have negatively affected children and their families in terms of income, access to employment, living conditions, education and skills and access to care or social services thus in terms of their general well-being;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes that, in order to reduce these inequalities and promote social inclusion, it is crucial to support women’s access to childeradicate all forms of discrimination, ensure long-term policies and services that promote access to decent jobs, fair wages, eradicate the pay and pension gap, protect against the multiple causes of poverty and social exclusion and promote work-life balance measures with equal access for all to affordable and high quality childcare and long-term care facilities, and the equal sharing of childcare between parentsare, domestic and childcare responsibilities between parents within the families; and, famcily- friendly working time arrangements; itate equal opportunities for parents to return to work; points out that early childhood education, as a component of high-quality and professional childcare, not only enables parents to work, but also benefits a child’s social and psychological development; calls on the Member States to strive to achieve Universal Health Coverage as defined by the WHO and provide pre- and post-natal care for all women;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)
Paragraph 2 c (new)
2d. Takes the view that women are at greater risk of poverty than men and that tackling women’s poverty is not only important in its own right but also of vital importance in efforts to reduce child poverty; recalls that period poverty, which refers to limited access to sanitary products, affects about one in 10 women in Europe; stresses that shame, untreated menstrual pain and discriminatory traditions lead to school drop outs and lower attendance rates of girls at school and women at work; underlines that understanding the links between menstrual hygiene and maternal morbidity, mortality and infertility, STI/HIV and cervical cancer is key in ending health inequalities and can support early detection and save lives; notes that, in 2021, 24.4% of children (under the age of 18) in the EU (19.8 million) were at risk of poverty or social exclusion; notes that this figure exceeds 30% in some countries; takes the view that children who grow up in poverty find it harder to succeed at school, to remain healthy and reach their full potential later in life; notes that social investment in individual capacities during children's early years is particularly beneficial for children from disadvantaged backgrounds; takes the view that, under the UN's Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which all the Member States are signatories, all children must be given the right to education, health care services, housing and protection, to take part in decisions that affect them, to leisure and free time, to a balanced diet and to receive care in a family environment;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Welcomes the EU care strategy and the revision of the Barcelona targets on early childhood education and care (ECEC) as key drivers of women’s labour- market participation1 and points out the importance of such high quality ECEC for fighting inequalities and social disadvantages for children and their families[1]; calls for a set of policies, programmes and recommendations, as well as investment at European level, so as to recognise care as a right and the backbone of our society; stresses that it should take an integrated, holistic and life-long approach to care, increase the attractiveness of work in the care sector, for women and men alike, as well as tackle discrimination and, gender inequalities in the sector; stresses however, the insufficient infrastructure offering quality and long-term care and childcare, especially for early childhood; __________________ 1 Eurostat: In 2021 in the EU-27, 27.9 % of women aged 25–49 outside the labour force indicated that looking after children or adults in need of care was their main reason for not seeking employment.
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Recalls the importance of Barcelona objectives for 2030, which include as targets that at least 50% of children below the age of three and at least 96% of children between the age of three and the starting age for compulsory primary education should participate in early childhood education and care; stresses the central role of women in such essential areas of the public domain such as social welfare, care, education, health, which holds our economy and society together, but in a crisis are often the first to be subjected to cuts; takes the view that early childhood education and care have a decisive impact on the cognitive development of children, given that they develop essential capacities in their first five years of life and that access to high- quality education lays the foundations for later success in life in terms of education, well-being, employability, and social integration, and has a significant impact on self-esteem; takes the view that childcare and pre-school education play a significant role in compensating for the socio-economic status of children at risk of poverty and foster the integration of parents, especially mothers, into the labour market; takes the view, that an inclusive education addresses all pupils by bolstering participation in terms of learning, cultural and community values; notes that educational differences among children from various educational backgrounds has grown; recommends that the Member States guarantee all children universal access to inclusive and high-quality formal and informal, public or private education at all ages, fostering their emotional, social, cognitive and physical development, safeguarding their well-being, and ensuring that all children can benefit from inclusive high-quality education and thus maximise the education systems’ impact when it comes to pushing for equal opportunities and breaking exclusion cycles;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses that addressing gender pay and pension gaps has a positive impact on poverty reduction and social inclusion and that this essential in order to achieve gender equality, thus the wide availability of high-quality childcare, social care and household services is crucial as their absence or limited accessibility result in women reducing or abandoning their participation in the employment market to fulfil unpaid care duties; calls for an ambitious implementation of the Pay Transparency Directive and for specific measures to fight against precarious jobs, in-work poverty, the horizontal and vertical segregation of the labour market and the undervaluation of work mostly done by women, which should be reassessed and remunerated fairly;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Notes the important role of families in crisis situations; points out the importance of adequate childcare, social care and household services for single parents, in particular women, as the Covid-19 crisis has shown that single mothers were disproportionally impacted and vulnerable to the care needs of their relatives thus being less available for professional activities1a; calls on the Commission and the Member States for an ambitious and reinforced implementation of the Child Guarantee, to ensure that all children in the European Union, as well as those in remote areas, have access to healthy nutrition, adequate housing, healthcare, education, care and leisure activities; reminds of the importance to mainstream children’s rights in all internal and external EU policies, actions and programmes, (legislative and non- legislative) that may affect children directly or indirectly, ensuring consistency and coherence, stresses the importance of the implementation of the Child Guarantee Recommendation; __________________ 1a Eurofound (2023), "Economic and social inequalities in Europe in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic"
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Stresses that in Europe, one in five children is a victim of some form of sexual violence, and most abuse occurs within a hypothetical framework of trust and additionally that children represent around a quarter of victims of trafficking, most of whom girls the majority of whom are girls, who are victims of sexual exploitation1a; notes the case of young female asylum seekers facing gender based violence; condemns all forms of violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect with regard to children; urges the Member States to develop and apply integrated prevention and child protection systems with a view to doing away with violence, abuse, exploitation and negligence, involving as well schools or health systems, including public services, to create rapid response conditions for those situations, providing a protective environment and helping to empower children; stresses that all children have the right to be protected from abuse, violence and neglect; __________________ 1a European Commission: EU strategy on the rights of the child, 24 March 2021
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Points out the importance of education and empowerment for girls and women as a factor in reducing gender inequalities; and social exclusion; stresses, in this connection, the importance of school programmes that take a critical look at stereotypes and their negative impact on girls and women, but also on boys and men, with the aim of breaking them down; recommends that the Member States ensure that all children have access to an inclusive, formal and non-formal, quality education at all ages; emphasises that comprehensive sexuality education for all children is an essential measure in ending inequalities and working towards a violence-free society, as it challenges harmful gender stereotypes, promotes diversity, bodily autonomy, and physical and mental integrity;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Points out that 42% of women aged 15-24,34% of women aged 25-39 and 27-29% of those aged 40-54 or 55 and older1a were not able to undertake paid professional activity as they wished to as a result of the COVID-19 sanitary crisis; _________________ 1a Flash Eurobarometer 2022, "Women in times of Covid-19"
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Recalls that many Ukrainian women refugees fleeing the war of aggression live in different Member States and non Member States in Europe and have specific needs related to childcare that need to be addressed in order to not only facilitate their access to the job market; , but also to facilitate language learning and the social inclusion of children; highlights that the war in Ukraine weakened access to healthcare, including SRHR services and led to a critical situation in meeting the SRHR needs of those displaced; Calls on Member States to address the challenges that Ukrainian women refugees face such as language barriers, greater likelihood of social isolation and limited social networks1a; notes that Ukrainian refugees may be at further risk of poverty and social exclusion;) notes that care obligations are a barrier to employment for Ukrainian women (33%) compared to Ukrainian men (9%); calls on Member States to address these challenges by offering dedicated support for childcare, such as providing childcare support or subsidies1b; __________________ 1a https://www.oecd.org/ukraine- hub/policy-responses/what-are-the- integration-challenges-of-ukrainian- refugee-women-bb17dc64/ 1b https://www.oecd.org/ukraine- hub/policy-responses/what-are-the- integration-challenges-of-ukrainian- refugee-women-bb17dc64/
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls foron the Member States toEU Commission to put a set of measures and recommendations aiming at fostering a transition towards an economy that puts care at the centre of their policies and guaranteeEU and national policies with timely and equal access to quality care services such as care education, while making efficient use of the available EU tools and funds in this area.providing adequate funds dedicated to this area; reiterates that, in addition to the ESF+, other EU financing sources can be directly or indirectly used to finance programmes that have an impact on the lives of children and their families, such as the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD);
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Calls for gender mainstreaming and gender budgeting principles to be reflected in all policy areas, as well when designing measures to respond to specific crises affecting women and girls; therefore, stresses the need for specific collection of disaggregated data and the development of gender expertise and gender impact assessments to ensure the gender dimension is fully integrated and to better understand and address the specific effects of these polices on women; calls for gender-targeted measures through earmarking, to address the specific needs of women following the negative impacts of the multiple crises, especially in the fields of employment, gender-based violence and SRHR, including where relevant, in programmes and instruments within Next Generation EU and the MFF for the 2021-2027 period;
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Recalls the importance of an equal sharing of care responsibilities at home, in support of better representation in the labour market of women with caring duties in order to improve their living conditions and social inclusion;
Amendment 50 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Welcomes the EU care strategy and the revision of the Barcelona targets on early childhood education and care (ECEC) as key drivers of women’s labour- market participation1 ; _________________ 1 Eurostat: In 2021 in the EU-27, 27.9 % of women aged 25–49 outside the labour force indicated that looking after children or adults in need of care was their main reason for not seeking employment. and points out the importance of such high quality ECEC for fighting inequalities and social disadvantages for children and their families;
Amendment 52 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Recalls that in 2021 in the EU 27, 27.9% of women aged 25-49 outside the labour force indicated that looking after children or adults in need of care was the main reason for not seeking employment3a; _________________ 3a Eurostat database table LFSA_IGAR, “Care of adults with disabilities or children and other family or personal reasons”, percentage of population outside the labour force and wanting to work, age group 15-64.
Amendment 55 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Recalls the importance of Barcelona objectives for 2030, which include as targets that at least 45% of children below the age of three and at least 96% of children between the age of three and the starting age for compulsory primary education should participate in early childhood education and care;
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses that addressing gender gaps has a positive impact on poverty reduction and social inclusion and thatis essential in order to achieve gender equality, thus the availability of childcare, social care and household services is crucial as their absence or limited accessibility result in women reducing or abandoning their participation in the employment market to fulfil unpaid care duties;
Amendment 68 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Points out the importance of adequate childcare, social care and household services for single parents, in particular women, as Covid-19 crisis has shown that single mothers were disproportionally impacted and vulnerable to the care needs of their relatives thus being less available for professional activities4a; _________________ 4a Eurofound (2023), "Economic and social inequalities in Europe in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic"
Amendment 110 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to address inequalities concerning women’s access to the labour market, which also improves children’s development, strengthens social inclusion, fairness and reduces poverty;