CIAO DATE: 05/2010
March 2010
This report concludes that the research gives a snapshot of the current position of women in poverty, reinforcing what is already known about the persistent social exclusion experienced by many women. It also provides some evidence that the impact of recession is making the inequality faced by women even worse. It is difficult to separate out evidence of women's longterm poverty from the effect of the current recession -- and further research is needed in this area. But the evidence here clearly indicates that the recession is already having a significant negative effect on the lives of women, not only in relation to the labour market, but also, crucially, outside it. However, the impact of the recession -- direct and indirect -- on women remains largely invisible, and further in-depth analysis is urgently required. This report documents evidence of: precarious working conditions; increasing discrimination in the labour market with a subsequent shift to informal work; rising levels of poverty; reduced access to services; and rising levels of domestic violence, accompanied by cuts in vital support services.
Resource link: Women's Poverty and Social Exclusion in the European Union at a Time of Recession: An Invisible Crisis? [PDF] - 524K