Activities of Sylvie BRUNET related to 2021/2170(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Women’s poverty in Europe (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on women’s poverty in Europe
Amendments (46)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Recital -A (new)
Recital -A (new)
-A. whereas the eradication of poverty is one of the priorities of the EU, enshrined in Article 3 TEU, Article 34 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan headline target, reflecting the EU's commitment to combat poverty in its policies;
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 a (new)
Citation 7 a (new)
— having regard to the International Labour Organization Convention No. 190 on eliminating violence and harassment in the world of work,
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 b (new)
Citation 7 b (new)
— having regard to the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan,
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the COVID-19 crisis has had a severe impact on labour income and wealth and is halting improvements in AROPE; whereas support measures have cushioned the negative effects of the crisis in the short ruwomen are more at risk of COVID-19 contamination due to their overrepresentation in essential frontline and more exposed occupations; whereas the pandemic disproportionately affects them in the socio-economic sphere, deepens existing discrimination and results in even more inequalities between women and men in the labour market, considering that women are more at risk of unemployment or reducing their working hours as a result of the health crisis and resulting care responsibilities; whereas support measures have cushioned the negative effects of the crisis in the short run; whereas the full economic, employment and social consequences of the pandemic are still unknown;
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 19 a (new)
Citation 19 a (new)
— having regard to its resolution of 10 February 2021 on reducing inequalities with a special focus on in- work poverty1a _________________ 1a OJ C 465, 17.11.2021, p. 62.
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas, according to Eurostat, the risk of poverty or social exclusion in the EU was higher for women than for men (22.9 % compared with 20.9 %) in 2020; whereas in the same year there were 96.5 million people in the EU at risk of poverty or social exclusion and that was equivalent to 21.9% of the EU population1a; whereas the poverty rate among working women could decrease if women were paid equally to men; _________________ 1ahttps://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics- explained/index.php?title=Living_conditi ons_in_Europe_- _poverty_and_social_exclusion#Key_findi ngs3
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas according to the recent data from the European Institute for Gender Equality only 62,5% of the women in the EU are employed, compared to 72,8% of men 2a; whereas the participation of women in the labour market has grown in the last decades but several gender gaps still exist; whereas in 2019 women's gross hourly earnings were on average 14,1% below those of men in the EU 3a; whereas women in the EU aged over 65 received a pension that was on average 29% lower than of men 4a and effective actions are needed to close the gender employment, care, pay and pension gaps; _________________ 2ahttps://eige.europa.eu/gender- statistics/dgs/indicator/ta_wrklab_lab_em plrate_gen__lfst_r_ergau/bar/year:2020/g eo:EU28,EU27_2020,EU15,EA19,BE,BG ,CZ,DK,DE,EE,IE,EL,ES,FR,HR,IT,CY, LV,LT,LU,HU,MT,NL,AT,PL,PT,RO,SI, SK,FI,SE,UK,IS,NO,CH,ME,MK,RS,TR/ age:Y15- 64/unit:PC/deg_urb:TOTAL/sex:M,W 3ahttps://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics- explained/index.php?title=Gender_pay_g ap_statistics 4a https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/en/web/prod ucts-eurostat-news/-/ddn-20210203-1
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion
Recital C c (new)
Recital C c (new)
Cc. whereas the risk of poverty rises sharply along the life course, revealing the gradually accumulating impact of pay inequalities; whereas poverty among those aged 75 years and over is consistently concentrated among women, mainly as a result of the impact of gendered unpaid care duties, life-long differences in pay and working time with the lower pensions that result, different retirement ages for men and women in some Member States, and the fact that more older women live alone;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas women, who constitute 76% of the healthcare workers in the EU5a, are over- represented among frontline workers, in non-standard forms of work, and in the hardest-hit sectors and among frontline workers in healthcare; whereas more women than men are in occupations that can be carried out remotely;by the pandemic; _________________ 5ahttps://eige.europa.eu/covid-19-and- gender-equality/essential-workers
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic women have been disproportionately affected in the socio- economic sphere, the employment rate of women has even fallen more sharply than it did during the 2008 recession and has also resulted in a lower labour intensity, leading to significant increases in women’s poverty; whereas according to estimates for 2019 in the EU-27, women are particularly affected by the risk of poverty (AROP), with the poverty rate standing at 2517.1 % beforeafter social transfers and 17.1 % after such transfe; whereas the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are not yet fully comprehended and the socio- economic impact will continue to be experienced in the coming years;
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas across the EU women receive disproportionately lower earnings than men; whereas low pay and low career prospects are barriers to achieving equal economic independence for women and men and can lead to higher risks of poverty and social exclusion; whereas non- discriminative remuneration is an essential requisite for women; whereas women's economic empowerment is key to achieve gender equality and combat women's poverty;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas poverty in general, and thus also women’s poverty, is multidimensional, and therefore includes not only material deprivation, but also a lack of access to many different resources and even an inability to fully exercise the rights of citizenship; services; whereas it is directly influenced by the lack of fair valuation of work typically 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;
Amendment 46 #
Draft opinion
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas the digital and the green transition require action to ensure that no one is left behind; whereas women are under-represented at all levels in the digital and STEM sectors in Europe and work less, compared with the men, in innovative technologies, such as artificial intelligence;
Amendment 51 #
Draft opinion
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
Eb. 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 by 6,1 to 9,6% and an additional 10.5 million jobs which would benefit both women and men by 20501a; _________________ 1ahttps://eige.europa.eu/gender- mainstreaming/policy-areas/economic- and-financial-affairs/economic-benefits- gender-equality
Amendment 57 #
Draft opinion
Recital E c (new)
Recital E c (new)
Ec. whereas investing in policies to support women also improves their families' living conditions, in particular those of their children; whereas eradicating child poverty is included in Principle 11 of the European Pillar of Social Rights;
Amendment 59 #
Draft opinion
Recital E d (new)
Recital E d (new)
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. 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 advance on minimum wages, minimum income and pay transparency in EU regulations;
Amendment 63 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Calls for an overarching European anti-poverty strategy, with ambitious targets for reducing poverty and a focus on breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty risks; stresses the importance of ensuring an intersectional approach so that all women, including those from minority and vulnerable groups, benefit from its objectives and actions;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas investment in universal services, including care services, has a positive impact on women’s fundamental rightseconomic independence and their ability to participate in the labour market;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas poverty also makes women more vulnerable to gender-based violence; whereas this includes the inability to leave an abusive partner and disproportionate vulnerability to trafficking and sexual exploitation; whereas gender-based violence contributes to poverty as it leads to social isolation of women subject to violence;
Amendment 82 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Stresses the need for Member States to implement well-designed labour market policies that aim to eradicate the gender gaps that put women at more risk of poverty, in particular the gender employment, pay and pension gaps; Welcomes the Commission's proposal for a directive to strengthen the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms; Highlights that while a lot has been achieved there are still gender inequalities in the labour market that have to be tackled; Calls on the Commission to implement and closely monitor the key objectives set out in the Gender Equality Strategy through concrete actions;
Amendment 84 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Welcomes the Commission’s commitment to present a revision of the Barcelona targets on early childhood education and care in 2022; calls on the Commission and Council to develop similar targets for long-term care as part of the forthcoming initiative on long- term care in 2022 to ensure sustainable long-term care that ensures better access to quality services for those in need as well as ensuring women’s continued participation in the labour market unhindered by unequal caring responsibilities;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas women have a lower employment rate and are disproportionally highly represented in low-paid, and precarious and dead-end job sectorjobs; whereas the gender pay gap stands at 14.1 %; in 2019 although this varies significantly between Member States;3a _________________ 3a https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics- explained/index.php?title=Gender_pay_g ap_statistics
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
Ia. whereas harassment at the workplace, including sexual and psychological harassment, of which women are the majority of 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;
Amendment 98 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses that the recovery efforts should boost jobs and growth, and the resilience and fairness of our societies, and should be complemented by a strong social dimension, paying attention to for all women, with an intersectional approach to support women who have a disability or, minority background, who stay at home to care for a family member and/or from different vulnerable groups, as they are particularly at risk of falling into poverty;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas the pgension entitlementsder pension gap averages at almost 30 %29.4 % in 20194a 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; _________________ 4a https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/product s-eurostat-news/-/ddn-20210203-1
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
Amendment 113 #
5. Recognises the crucial role of all European funds and programmes in the social area, particularly the Recovery and Resilience Facility, European Social Fund Plus and the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers; calls on the Member States to make full use of these fundshighlights that through the ESF+, Member States and the Commission should aim to increase the participation of women in employment as well as conciliation between working and personal life, combat the feminisation of poverty and gender discrimination in the labour market and in education and training as well as to support the most vulnerable and combat child poverty; calls on the Member States to make full, effective and transparent use of these funds to mitigate the socio-economic impacts of the crisis, particularly on women and mainstream gender equality objectives throughout their national recovery and resilience plans (NRRPs);
Amendment 120 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to submit initiatives to promote women’s empowerment through education, vocational training and lifelong learning, as well as access to finance, female entrepreneurship and women’s representation in future-oriented sectors with a view to ensuring access to high- quality employment; calls on the Member States to implement policies that contribute to the skilling, up-skilling and re-skilling of women, especially with regard to the green and digital transitions; calls for greater promotion of STEM subjects, digital education, artificial intelligence and financial literacy in order to ensure that more women enter these sectors and contribute to their development.
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas the discussions on the review of the current EU model of socio- economic governance is harmfshould toake into consideration the EU’'s commitment to reduce inequalities and eradicate poverty, in particular women’' s poverty resulting from a lifetime of discrimination;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Calls on the Commission to develop an ambitious 2030 European anti- poverty strategy, with concrete targets for reducing poverty and a focus on ending women’s poverty and the risk ofbreaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty risks;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Calls on the Commission to promote equal participation and opportunities for women and men in the labour market and to introduce initiatives to promote women’s access to finance, female entrepreneurship and women’s economic independence;
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Commission to put forward a ‘care deal for Europe’, which should take a holistic, gender-sensitive and lifelong approach to care while envisaging legislative measures and investment at EU level; Believes that this 'care deal' should promote fair working conditions and adequate wages in order to maintain the attractiveness of the care sector;
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Underlines that an increase in women's poverty has a greater impact on wider society as women tend to be mainly responsible for the purchase of basic goods and are key for the sustenance of the household; expresses concern about the impact this will have in terms of child poverty; welcomes, in this regard, the adoption of the Council Recommendation (EU) 2021/1004 of 14 June 2021 establishing a European Child Guarantee;
Amendment 168 #
5. Highlights that in order to tackle the multidimensionality of women’s poverty, it is necessary to overcome the segregation of unpaid domestic care workwork and care responsibilities mainly performed by women and to introduce flexitimestrengthen the fight against stereotypes, as well as to introduce family- friendly working arrangements, such as adaptable working hours and the possibility of teleworking, in order to allow women and men to better reconcile their professional life with their private life (time use policy);
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Urges the Member States to swiftly and fully transpose and implement the Work-Life Balance Directive so as to ensure a fair division of work and family life, and invites them to go beyond the Directive’s minimum standards;
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5 b. Calls on the Member States to implement active and effective policies to prevent and combat harassment in the workplace, including sexual and psychological harassment; Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure proper and adequate funding mechanisms for programmes and actions to combat harassment in the workplace, including mechanisms to support women in reporting cases of harassment; calls on the Member States and the EU to ratify International Labour Organization Convention No 190 on eliminating violence and harassment in the world of work;
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Underlines the crucial role of high- quality publicand affordable universal services in combatting women’s poverty, in particular services for early childhood education and care, or care for other dependent persons such as elderly people and people with disabilities;
Amendment 241 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls on the Commission to design a special programmeuse existing programmes and funding to fight against women’s digital poverty in order to equip women with the necessary skills to operate safely in the digital environment;
Amendment 243 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 12 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Calls on the Commission and the Member States to promote women’s empowerment through education, vocational training and lifelong learning, as well as female entrepreneurship and women’s representation in future-oriented sectors; calls, in particular, for greater promotion of STEM subjects, digital education, artificial intelligence and financial literacy in order to combat prevailing stereotypes and ensure that more women enter these sectors and contribute to their development;
Amendment 245 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Stresses that in-work poverty can be addressed at some of its root causes and components, such as education, training and care services, which are determinant and must therefore be considered in policy-making;
Amendment 247 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
Amendment 277 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Recognises the crucial role of all European funds and programmes in the social area, particularly the European Social Fund Plus; Calls on the Member States to make full use of these funds with a gender perspective;
Amendment 286 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Points out that the EU’s fiscal capacity urgently requires thea revisionew of the current economic and social governance so that itregarding its ability to contributes to reaching gender equalities and ending female poverty and does not just include austerity measures;
Amendment 290 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Calls on the Council to establish a dedicated configuration on gender equality in order to deliver common and concrete measures to address the challenges in the field of women’s rights and gender equality and ensure that gender equality issues are discussed at the highest political level;