Sittings · Document

DRAFT OPINION (2025/2095(INI)) 2025-06-30

On developing a new EU anti-poverty strategy

Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality · Rapporteur: Lina Gálvez

AMENDMENTS

The Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality submits the following to the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, as the committee responsible :

Amendment 1

Motion for a resolution

Citation -1 (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	– having regard to Articles 2 and 3(3) of the Treaty on European Union,

Or. en

Amendment 2

Motion for a resolution

Citation 1 a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	– having regard to Articles 8, 9, 151, 153 and 157 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Or. en

Amendment 3

Motion for a resolution

Citation 4 a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	– having regard to the 1979 United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,

Or. en

Amendment 4

Motion for a resolution

Citation 9 a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	– having regard to Directive 2006/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006 on the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation1a,
	_________________
	1a OJ L 204, 26.7.2006, p. 23, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2006/54/oj.

Or. en

Amendment 5

Motion for a resolution

Citation 12 a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	– having regard to its resolution of 30 January 2020 on the gender pay gap1a,
	_________________
	1a OJ C 331, 17.8.2021, p. 5.

Or. en

Amendment 6

Motion for a resolution

Citation 15 a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	– having regard to its resolution of 5 July 2022 on women’s poverty in Europe1a,
	_________________
	1a OJ C 47, 7.2.2023, p. 2.

Or. en

Amendment 7

Motion for a resolution

Citation 20 a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	– having regard to the Commission communication of 7 March 2025 entitled ‘A Roadmap for Women’s Rights’ (COM(2025)0097),

Or. en

Amendment 8

Motion for a resolution

Citation 28 a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	– having regard to the Make Mothers Matter report to be published in September 2025 entitled ‘Mothers’ Poverty in the EU’,

Or. en

Amendment 9

Motion for a resolution

Recital A a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	A a. whereas despite a reduction in poverty in the EU among both women and men, women continue to be disproportionately more affected by poverty and the risk of social exclusion than men; whereas in 2024, in all but two EU countries, the severe material and social deprivation rate was higher for women (6.6 %) than for men (6.2 %)1a and the at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion rate was higher for women (21.9 %) than for men (20 %) in all EU countries1b; whereas in the same year 23.7 % of women and 22.7 % of men in the EU considered themselves to be poor1c;
	_________________
	1a Eurostat, Data Browser, ‘Severe material and social deprivation rate by age and sex’, accessed 30 June 2025, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc_mdsd11__custom_17284202/bookmark/table?lang=en&bookmarkId=a0f88fa5-9110-4302-a67d-d58f889214d0&page=time:2024.
	1b Eurostat, Data Browser, ‘Persons at risk of poverty or social exclusion by age and sex’, accessed 30 June 2025, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc_peps01n__custom_17280682/bookmark/table?lang=en&bookmarkId=1136c1ef-3d9f-4fda-82fb-cf7423eac65e&page=time:2024.
	1c Eurostat, Data Browser, ‘Subjective poverty by age and sex’, accessed 30 June 2025, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc_sbjp01__custom_17284289/bookmark/table?lang=en&bookmarkId=7d0decb7-866a-4494-b901-58a61bebd575&page=time:2024.

Or. en

Amendment 10

Motion for a resolution

Recital A b (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	A b. whereas there is a strong correlation between female poverty and child poverty; whereas in 2024, across the EU, the at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion rate (24.2 % of people under 18)1a and the severe material and social deprivation rate (7.9 % of people under 18)1b were highest among children; whereas in 2024, 26.1 % of people under 18 in the EU considered themselves to be poor1c;
	_________________
	1a Eurostat, Data Browser, ‘Persons at risk of poverty or social exclusion by age and sex’, accessed 30 June 2025, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/bookmark/1136c1ef-3d9f-4fda-82fb-cf7423eac65e?lang=en&page=time:2024.
	1b Eurostat, Data Browser, ‘Severe material and social deprivation rate by age and sex’, accessed 30 June 2025, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc_mdsd11__custom_17284216/bookmark/table?lang=en&bookmarkId=a3bbdd78-6da8-43f5-8b3b-b2eb4a3ddadc&page=time:2024.
	1c Eurostat, Data Browser, ‘Subjective poverty by age and sex’, accessed 30 June 2025, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc_sbjp01__custom_17284300/bookmark/table?lang=en&bookmarkId=a2e1c6ea-e1ca-43ca-a78c-5bb0645fdd77&page=time:2024.

Or. en

Amendment 11

Motion for a resolution

Recital A c (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	A c. whereas in 2024, 8 % of children in the EU under the age of 17 lived in jobless households1a;
	_________________
	1a Eurostat, Statistics Explained, ‘Household composition statistics’, accessed 23 June 2025, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Household_composition_statistics#Data_sources.

Or. en

Amendment 12

Motion for a resolution

Recital A d (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	A d. whereas single-parent families are at greater risk of poverty and social exclusion and experience a higher probability of poverty persisting across several generations; whereas in 2024, most single-parent households were led by women1a; whereas some municipalities in Member States have recognised the special challenges faced by single mothers and have introduced targeted policies and support measures;
	_________________
	1a Eurostat, Statistics Explained, ‘Household composition statistics’, accessed 23 June 2025, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Household_composition_statistics#Data_sources.

Or. en

Amendment 13

Motion for a resolution

Recital A e (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	A e. whereas although work in highly female-dominated sectors is essential and of high socio-economic value, it is undervalued and pays less 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 socio-economic value and to move forward on minimum wages, minimum income and pay transparency in EU regulations;

Or. en

Amendment 14

Motion for a resolution

Recital A f (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	A f. whereas in 2024, the gender employment gap in the EU was 10.0 percentage points, meaning that the proportion of men of working age in employment exceeded that of women by 10.0 percentage points1a; whereas in 2023, the gender pay gap in the EU stood at 12 %1b, with women disproportionately highly represented in low-paid, precarious job sectors; whereas women are more represented in flexible forms of work, with atypical and flexible contracts (part-time work, temporary work, etc.); whereas women face pregnancy and maternity discrimination as well as early retirement from the labour market owing to care responsibilities and the impact of menopause disorders on their health or social circumstances;
	_________________
	1a Eurostat, Statistics Explained, ‘Gender statistics’, accessed 23 June 2025, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Gender_statistics.
	1b Eurostat, Statistics Explained, ‘Gender pay gap statistics’, accessed 23 June 2025, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Gender_pay_gap_statistics.

Or. en

Amendment 15

Motion for a resolution

Recital A g (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	A g. whereas the gender poverty gap is expected to increase by 2030, as women will continue to make up the majority of the world’s extreme poor and the gap may widen further with the digitalisation of our labour markets, considering the gender gap in education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects and the gap in some employment sectors, such as defence and aerospace, information and communications technology (ICT) and energy;

Or. en

Amendment 16

Motion for a resolution

Recital A h (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	A h. whereas in 2024, women in the EU received on average 26.1 % less pension income than men, and 5.3 % of women received no pension at all1a; whereas this is 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, also bearing in mind that life expectancy is higher for women than for men, deepening the consequences of poverty and social exclusion; whereas greater labour inclusion throughout a person’s lifetime will help to close the gender pension gap;
	_________________
	1a European Commission: Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion and Social Protection Committee, The 2024 pension adequacy report, Publications Office of the European Union, 2024.

Or. en

Amendment 17

Motion for a resolution

Recital A i (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	A i. whereas ‘time poverty’ means the absence of available time after deducting the time necessary for paid employment and unpaid work (caregiving), study or other basic necessities of life such as mental and physical self-care; whereas time poverty deprives women of the time or autonomy necessary to ensure decent working conditions, financial autonomy, training or access to the basic resources and minimum services that would guarantee them a healthy life and enable them to participate fully in their communities and societies;

Or. en

Amendment 18

Motion for a resolution

Recital A j (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	A j. whereas the energy crises and rising living costs, especially related to housing, reduce women’s financial capacity to build an autonomous existence, making it harder for women with no income or a low income to escape domestic violence; whereas poverty exacerbates the impact of gender-based violence on women; whereas poverty puts women at greater risk of trafficking and sexual exploitation;

Or. en

Amendment 19

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 1 a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	1 a. Calls on the Commission to make the strategy gender-responsive and to put a strong focus on women’s structural poverty, which affects single mothers and migrant and elderly women disproportionately and creates child poverty;

Or. en

Amendment 20

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 1 b (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	1 b. Urges the Member States to boost public investment in policies that address the negative impact of poverty on women in all their diversity, including the victims of gender-based violence; calls for access to be ensured to high-quality, free public services in areas such as care, education, health, housing and energy, paying particular attention to rural, inland and ultra-peripheral regions, and areas at risk of depopulation;

Or. en

Amendment 21

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 2 a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	2 a. Stresses that the majority of unpaid care work is still carried out solely by women and this has negative consequences for the occupational gender gap and economic independence; calls for incentives promoting the fairer sharing of unpaid care and domestic work in order to achieve an ’equal earner, equal carer’ model in society;

Or. en

Amendment 22

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 2 b (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	2 b. Underlines the need to overcome the segregation of unpaid domestic work and care responsibilities, mainly performed by women; calls for the reassessment of this typically female-dominated area of employment through evaluation tools developed and applied to establish a better and fairer remuneration scheme, and to ensure equal pay for equal work and work of equal value;

Or. en

Amendment 23

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 2 c (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	2 c. Underlines that adequate housing is a fundamental right to be protected and recognised as a precondition for the enjoyment of other fundamental rights; recalls that inequality in housing drives many women to live in undignified, unsafe situations, at risk of homelessness and violence; calls on the Member States to fully implement the directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence, which are major causes of women’s homelessness; calls for the Commission to take this into account in its upcoming affordable housing plan in 2026;

Or. en

Amendment 24

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 7 a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	7 a. Calls for the Pay Transparency Directive1a to be swiftly and fully implemented by all Member States to address essential aspects of the gender pay gap within some sectors;
	_________________
	1a Directive (EU) 2023/970 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 May 2023 to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms (OJ L 132, 17.5.2023, p. 21, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2023/970/oj).

Or. en

Amendment 25

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 7 b (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	7 b. Calls for new accelerated efforts to close the gender employment gap and the gender pension gap and to increase investment in public services and social infrastructure and calls for a commitment to advance towards care societies;

Or. en

Amendment 26

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 7 c (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	7 c. Urges the Commission to tackle the systematic undervaluation of work carried out in female-dominated sectors, such as the social, health, care and education sectors, that leads to in-work poverty, and to work with the Member States and social partners to develop gender-neutral job evaluation tools and criteria allowing for an EU-wide definition and comparison of ‘the value of work’, with the aim of fairer valuation and remuneration of work carried out in female-dominated sectors;

Or. en

Amendment 27

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 12 a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	12 a. Recalls that poverty continues to be measured based on accumulated household income, even if not all members of the household earn the same or distribute resources equally; calls for individualised rights and calculations based on individual income in order to combat the true extent of women’s poverty and to include time poverty as a measure;

Or. en

Amendment 28

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 13 a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	13 a. Calls for the EU and the Member States to consider the development of a specific status for single-parent families;

Or. en

Amendment 29

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 14 a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	14 a. Emphasises that, to address the complex nature of women’s poverty, it is necessary to change the division of unpaid domestic care work, which is predominantly carried out by women, and to implement flexible working hours to help both women and men better balance their professional and personal lives (time use policy);

Or. en

Amendment 30

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 18 a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	18 a. Calls on the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) and the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) to conduct EU-wide research on the intersectional aspects of poverty;

Or. en

Amendment 31

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 18 b (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	18 b. Calls on the Commission to create a special working group comprising people experiencing poverty, academics, representatives from Eurostat, the FRA, the EIGE, the statistics offices of the Member States, policymakers and civil society organisations, and practitioners working in essential services;

Or. en

Amendment 32

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 20 a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	20 a. Calls on the Commission to include the EIGE’s Gender Equality Index in the social scoreboard;

Or. en

ANNEX: ENTITIES OR PERSONS FROM WHOM THE RAPPORTEUR FOR OPINION HAS RECEIVED INPUT

Pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure, the rapporteur for opinion declares that she received input from the following entities or persons in the preparation of the draft opinion:

Entity and/or person
Make Mothers Matter (MMM)

The list above is drawn up under the exclusive responsibility of the rapporteur for the opinion.

Where natural persons are identified in the list by their name, by their function or by both, the rapporteur for opinion declares that she has submitted to the natural persons concerned the European Parliament’s Data Protection Notice No 484 (https://www.europarl.europa.eu/data-protect/index.do), which sets out the conditions applicable to the processing of their personal data and the rights linked to that processing.