Poverty is worsening in France and women and children are the main victims, the charity Secours Catholique has warned in its annual report, highlighting the burden of inflation, childcare and entrenched gender inequality on single women and mothers, reports FRANCE 24.
The French charity released its annual survey of poverty in France on Tuesday, saying it catered to a record one million people in 2022, up from 780,000 the previous year, amid an inflation crisis that has hit low-income households hardest.
Among the beneficiaries, single-adult households were over-represented (75%), including mainly single mothers (25.7%) and single women (20.9%). Secours Catholique said the findings reflected a slow but steady increase in the share of women living in poverty, which accounted for 57.5% of the total in 2022 – up from 52% at the turn of the century.
Jean Merckaert, the charity’s France advocacy officer, pointed to several factors behind this increase, starting with the rise in break-ups, in particular marital breakdowns, in which women tend to pay the highest price.
“In 9 cases out of 10, when we talk about single-parent households living in poverty, we’re talking about mothers whose meagre earnings and allowances are insufficient to cover childcare expenses,” Merckaert explained.
Another factor is the enduring gender inequality on the job market, which penalises women throughout their careers as well as after they retire.
“Women are more often employed in low-income jobs and are also more likely to work part time,” Merckaert said. “The time devoted to children and household chores means many women are hindered in their career development, and when couples split, they are stuck with little to survive on,” he added.
Job inequality then translates into smaller pensions, leading to a marked increase in the number of older women who struggle to get by at the end of the month.