Approximately 47% of single-parent households are at risk of poverty. This is one of the main findings of a memo published by the European Commission on Wednesday 31 July, the aim of which is to provide an overview of actions taken and legislation passed at national level in this area across the European Union.
The memo states that the number of single-parent households is growing rapidly throughout the European Union, due in particular to the increase in the number of divorces. When couples divorce, it is often the women who take responsibility for raising the children. The problem with this outcome is that the women suffer from discrimination on a number of fronts. They earn lower wages than men and find it more difficult to access the labour market, for example. This often leads to situations where they find themselves in precarious jobs and more likely to suffer from emotional distress.
The European landscape of initiatives and legislation is particularly uneven in this area. The European Commission notes that two main types of policy are being put in place and combined together, i.e. social assistance and policies facilitating access to employment.
Financial support takes several forms: some Member States provide a special tax credit for single parents (Austria and Ireland), others offer higher levels of family allowances for single-parent households (Italy and Portugal). And some provide social assistance based on income, rather than specific to their family status (the United Kingdom). In these cases, the assistance is often combined together, but with very different levels of success from one Member State to another.
The situation of single-parent households is particularly worrying in Ireland and Bulgaria, where more than 60% are at risk of poverty and social exclusion, unlike in Estonia or Denmark, where “only” 35% of households are in a similar situation. Estonia is one of the few Member States (along with Hungary) that has a higher employment rate for single parents (over 80%) than for couples.
To consult the memo, go to: https://bit.ly/2ZmZPm1 (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)