Women at greater risk of poverty due to lower wages

" Women have a higher risk of poverty than men (17.6% compared to 15.4%), which corresponds to around 980,000 women, due to their salaries being generally very low, as well as all the benefits that depend on them", indicate the data released on the occasion of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, which is celebrated on Friday.

Without the public Social Security system, CIMH highlights that "the number of poor people would rise to nearly 4.3 million people (40.3% of the total)", according to 2023 data from the National Statistics Institute's (INE) Living Conditions and Income Survey, increasing the percentage of poor women to 42.5%, out of a total of 2.361 million.

The commission highlights that, even after social transfers (mainly from Social Security), the risk of poverty was "particularly high" among unemployed women, reaching 42.7% in 2023, "due to the weak coverage and low value of unemployment benefits", a higher value than in previous years.

Without social transfers, this percentage would rise to 64.1%.

Among retired women, the risk of poverty stands at 21.2%, the highest figure since 2007, while among working women it is 8.3%, out of a total of 206,000 women, with the CIMH highlighting that this shows that "there are workers who become poor while working due to the very low wages they receive".

Without social transfers, the risk of poverty would reach 87.7% among retired women and 17.6% among working women, it adds.

Combining the risk of poverty with two other indicators - severe material deprivation and very low per capita labor intensity - the Commission for Equality between Women and Men points out that, in 2024, there were around 2.1 million people living in Portugal who were in a situation of poverty or social exclusion even after social transfers.

"More than politically correct speeches from those in power, we need policies that solve everyday problems," argues CIMH, considering that the proposed State Budget for 2026 (OE2026) and the draft legislation Portugal XXI (for reviewing labor legislation) "confirm the diagnosis, but deny solutions to the problem, which anticipates its future worsening."

For the CIMH of the CGTP, the fight against poverty, particularly among women, involves a general increase in wages and retirement pensions, the guarantee of stable employment, the promotion of collective bargaining as an "essential instrument to ensure a better and fairer distribution of wealth", shared responsibility for domestic and care work, the reduction of the burden of housing expenses and the protection of women's physical and mental health.