Towards Individualizing Gender In-Work Poverty Risks

Abstract

According to the information on in-work poverty (IWP) reflected by the Eurostat’s IWP indicator there is no particular gender pattern emerging, as the incidence of IWP among women and men appears to be more or less equal (see Chapter 2). The gender dimension and, in particular, the situation of women, crops up only when considering specific issues related to individual characteristics or the employment conditions. It emerges also from the analysis when the situation of individuals is put in perspective with their household status through issues such as the impact of parenthood, the number of earners in the household or its work intensity. However, this apparent gender neutrality of IWP appears to be counterintuitive. An abundant literature indicates convincingly that women suffer from multiple disadvantages in the labour market compared to men. Therefore, the gender breakdown of the IWP indicator does not reflect adequately the manifold obstacles faced by women throughout their working and family life, many of them inducing an increased risk of poverty, even for working women.