Gender gap in pensions of almost 40% needs to be tackled
- incentives for women to work longer and with shorter career breaks
- care credits for maternity, paternity, parental leave or care for other family members
- respect the principle of equal pay for equal work
Gender inequality in employment and pay need to be tackled better, also to prevent pension gaps, which are nearly 40% in the EU.
The gender gap in pensions “in 2015 in the EU stood at 38.3 % in the 65 and over age group and has increased in half of the Member States over the past five years” says the text adopted on Wednesday.
The gender gap in pensions is mainly the result of differences in the labour market and of a gender imbalance that exists in relation to careers and family life: a higher proportion of women working part-time (32% of women to 8% of men), lower hourly wages, and women with fewer years in employment due to caring responsibilities.
MEPs outlined a number of proposals to tackle the gender gap in pensions:
- reduce inequalities by tackling discrimination and stereotypes, which block access to the labour market, in particular through education,
- respect the principle of equal pay for equal work and offer women incentives to work longer and with shorter career breaks, pension credits for men and women as a form of allowance for caring for children or family members
- generally improving work-life balance and giving incentives for men to use their parental and paternity leave, access to local, high-quality, affordable child-care facilities, and facilities for the elderly and dependants,
- more accurate assessment and awareness-raising, including better data collection and monitoring,
- corrective measures in pension systems to aid the most vulnerable groups
The resolution was approved by 433 to 67, with 175 abstentions.
Contacts:
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Maja OREL SCHWARZ
Press Officer