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This reports summarises key findings on the situation of older migrant
women in the five participating countires of the AGE+ project - the United
Kingdom, Austria, Germany, The Netherlands and Italy.
The report argues that older migrant women belong to a vulnerable
group. Statistically they are hardly visible and their lives go
practically unnoticed. The results of the research that does exist do not
render a positive image. Because of their limited possibilities at the
labour market, low incomes and insufficient pensions, migrant women are at
risk of spending their retirement in poverty. Along with the feminisation
of poverty, there is now a high risk of the colouring of poverty.
The report presents the common characteristics found in the
participating countries:
- migrant women are invisible in statistics and research results.
There is not enough knowledge of the situation of migrant women in
Europe. The invisibility of migrants or their statistics, may also
contribute to their disadvantages. Policy makers need facts and figures
to recognise and tackle social problems
- there are growing numbers of older migrants - at present the migrant
population is younger than the native population. Within decades their
numbers will be even
- educational levels are an important measure for the level of
participation in society. Foreign women aged 40+ in the EU countries
have significantly lower attainments than foreign men or native women of
their age
- a weak link with labour market - lower employment rates for migrant
women than for native women, extremely low employment rates for migrant
women aged 50+, higher rates of unemployment, over representation in low
paid and low skilled jobs, over representation in undeclared jobs,
especially in domestic work
- significantly lower incomes - as a result of their generally lower
educational levels, labour market participation and unequal payment,
there aresubstantial income differences between migrant women 40+ and
migrant men or native women of their age
- pensions - older migrant women face multiple discrimination and
their options for building up a proper pension are limited. Women lack
full build-up years because of care responsibilities. Women lack
build-up years because of their migration history. Migrants, in
particular women, are more often unemployed, thus pay less into a
pension scheme and build up less pension though employment. Migrant
(women) are disadvantaged through the required waiting periods before
they are entitled to a full and unconditional pension. Because of lower
earnings they save less for their pension. In some sectors there are no
pension provisions or women are excluded
The report states that the European Union considers employment a key
factor in tackling social exclusion and poverty. But it suggests that the
EU member states' National Action Plans on poverty and social exclusion
deal with the risk factors of age, gender and ethnicity independentently
from each other. There is not much attention to the multiple risks of
social exclusion, hence single older migrant women are not visible as a
vulnerable group.
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