25 Amendments of Maria da Graça CARVALHO related to 2020/2084(INI)
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
C a. whereas 15% of households with children at EU level are single-parent households; whereas on average, 85% of these households are run by single mothers, while 47% of single parent households were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2017; whereas these single-parent households were disproportionally affected by the COVID- 19 pandemic;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
C b. whereas homelessness among women is a growing problem; whereas women experiencing homeless continue to encounter specific challenges in the context of the COVID-19 crisis, with temporary and emergency accommodation being particularly vulnerable to disease transmission, gender based violence and a lack of access to hygiene and healthcare facilities;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Recital C c (new)
Recital C c (new)
C c. whereas horizontal and vertical labour market segregation in the EU is still significant, with women overrepresented in less profitable sectors; whereas especially women with precarious contracts were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as they were the first to lose their jobs leading to financial consequences for their families and to their economic independence, as well as insufficient social security protection in time of crisis;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Recital C d (new)
Recital C d (new)
C d. whereas more than 50% of carers under 65 combine care with employment this way performing a difficult balancing act; whereas carers may prefer low-skilled and low-paid jobs, which can be adapted to their caregiving schedule, as well as be obliged to reduce their working hours or leave paid work; whereas between 7% and 21% of informal carers reduce their working hours and between 3% and 18% withdraw from the labour market;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Recital C e (new)
Recital C e (new)
C e. whereas COVID-19 has exposed a long-standing problem in care provision in the EU; whereas care needs to be viewed holistically along a continuum, from childcare to afterschool care, to care for those with disabilities to care for older persons;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Recital C f (new)
Recital C f (new)
C f. whereas adoption of the Work-life Balance Directive, was an important first steps towards harmonisation of different leaves within the EU allowing working parents to combine their professional and private life; whereas it has to be fully transposed and implemented on time by the Member States; whereas the work-life balance is in particular a difficult balancing act for many families during COVID-19 pandemic;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Recital C g (new)
Recital C g (new)
C g. whereas start-up entrepreneurs, 70% of whom are men while 30% are women and the self-employed, of whom 34.4% are women, have been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 crisis; whereas an updated study, showing COVID-19 short, medium and long term implications on women’s entrepreneurship in the EU 27 would be a valuable source of information for the European decision makers;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas digital education and skills are key to adjusting to the digital transition of Europe’s economy and society; whereas women are underrepresented in ICT professions; whereas only 17% of ICT specialists and 34% of STEM graduates are women; whereas at the same time women in the information and communication sector earn 19% less than men; whereas in digital skills, there is a gender gap of 11% and whereas the gap is higher for above basic skills and especially for those above 55 years;
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Calls on the Commission, Eurostat, the Member States and EIGE to regularly gather gender- and age- disaggregated data on COVID-19 and the socio-economic impact of the virus; stresses that recovery measures must be informed by gender-disaggregated data, with special attention to areas where data is scarce and incomparable, for the informed decision making at the EU, national and regional level;
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1 b. Calls on the Commission to monitor the European Strategy for Gender Equality (2020-2025) and invites the Member States to adopt national gender equality strategies on its basis as an important part for the socio-economic measures taken in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis;
Amendment 50 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to work on improving the situation of women in the COVID-19 crisis and to adopt family-friendly policies; calls on the Commission and the Member States to launch an ambitious social and demographic investment plan to support Member States’ efforts to improve available and affordable high-quality childcare, out-of-school care and long-term care infrastructures; invites the MS and the Commission to exploit all synergies in relevant EU financial instruments for development of necessary care infrastructure and services;
Amendment 57 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Calls on the EU Member States to timely and effectively transpose and implement the Work-Life Balance Directive as well as on the Commission to effectively monitor its implementation; invites the Member State to examine which complementary measures would be needed to ensure a better work-life balance of working parents, with due attention to single parents households;
Amendment 59 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3 b. Calls on the Commission to collect data on the provision of different types of care (childcare, care for older people and persons with disabilities or persons requiring long term care), feeding into a study examining the care gap to inform an initiative for a European Care Strategy; notes that the strategy in question has to respect the competences of the Members States as laid in the Treaties but would aim to improve the cooperation and coordination of all measures which could be beneficial for the EU informal carers and the people they are taking care of; stresses that cooperation at European level together with the efficient use of EU funds can contribute to the development of quality, accessible and affordable care services;
Amendment 61 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3 c. Stresses that new needs for childcare services appear with the growing number of dual-earning and single-parent families; points out that high quality, available, accessible and affordable childcare services are essential to allow parents to stay in or join the labour market and reduce the gender gap in employment; stresses however that these childcare services should also be available for children of job-seeking parents and for children in precarious family situations;
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 d (new)
Paragraph 3 d (new)
3 d. Highlights that in light of emerging demographic trends, such as ageing societies, lower birth rates and consequently the decline of the working age population, the need for formal and informal long-term care services becomes more important than ever; points out that the provision of care services and infrastructure are specially relevant for women, who are often more engaged than men in both formal and informal care of older persons and/or persons with disabilities. majority of whom are also women; stresses in the regard of informal carers the importance of family supporting leave schemes and to ensure the social security rights entitlement;
Amendment 63 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 e (new)
Paragraph 3 e (new)
3 e. Highlights particular developments in the areas of provision of care during COVID-19 measures; against this background, calls on the Commission to serve as a platform to facilitate the exchange of best practices on the quality, accessibility and affordability of care services, as well as the different models of care services; urges the Commission to examine the situation of informal carers and to share best practices on how the Member States regularise their work;
Amendment 65 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to empower women through accessible high-quality, tailored digital education and individualised training and skill development; stresses in this regard on the need to foresee not only training and skill development online, but also specific training in the field;
Amendment 76 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to provide equal access to technology, education, training, employment, social protection systems and healthcare for all, especially for vulnerable groups such as persons with disabilities, single parents, women living in rural areas and elderly women, so they can fully benefit and actively participate in the life of their communities.
Amendment 79 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Urges the need to further incorporate the gender perspective in the upcoming Disability Equality Strategy 2021, with due attention to improved access to the labour market through targeted measures and actions;
Amendment 84 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5 b. Calls on the Commission to have a specific approach for single mothers, as single mothers are particularly economically vulnerable as they often earn less than men and are more likely to leave the labour market when they become a parent; calls on the Commission to enhance in this regard the enforcement of existing legal tools on cross-border collection of alimony, with public awareness raising of their availability; urges the Commission to work closely with the Member States to identify practical problems linked with alimony collection in cross-border situations and to develop tools to effectively enforce payment obligations;
Amendment 87 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5 c. Welcomes the Commission’s commitment to present binding measures on pay transparency by the end of 2020; stresses in this regard on the importance of a full cooperation and involvement of the social partners and all the stakeholders;
Amendment 89 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 d (new)
Paragraph 5 d (new)
5 d. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to recognize the important value of care workers who were at the front line during the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to improve their working conditions and to revaluate these professions with involvement of the social partners and through collective bargaining;
Amendment 92 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 e (new)
Paragraph 5 e (new)
5 e. Calls on the Member States to ensure adequate social and financial support is extended to those in precarious situations, including women at risk of poverty or those living in poverty, homeless or vulnerable to social exclusion;
Amendment 94 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 f (new)
Paragraph 5 f (new)
5 f. Emphasises the need for digital literacy supports through education and provision of resources to bridge the digital divide that has been highlighted as work and schooling, as well as many services and facilities, have suddenly moved online;
Amendment 95 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 g (new)
Paragraph 5 g (new)
5 g. Encourage the Member States to follow the Commission's Guidelines for Employment Policies in the EU, including combating precarious work that often involves more women than men, having due regard to their national labour market models; invites the Commission to examine the working conditions of platform workers with a view to suggesting improvements in their particular situation, given the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic may only reinforce negative trends in their employment;