European Parliament votes to close the gender pension gap - MEP Maria Walsh

The European Parliament’s Committee on Gender Equality today voted to tackle the persistent gender pension gap across the European Union, MEP Maria Walsh has said.

The Committee, of which MEP Walsh is a full member, adopted a report on gender pay and pension gaps today. The report demands action at EU and national level to address inequalities that leave women with significantly lower retirement incomes and a higher risk of poverty in later life.

Gender pay and pension gaps cost the EU €390 billion in 2023 due to lost earnings and lower public revenues. Closing the gender employment gap could boost EU GDP per capita by between 3.2% and 5.5% by 2050, while higher wages would encourage more women to enter and remain in the labour market.

MEP Maria Walsh said:

“The gender pension gap is estimated to be between 30-40% in Ireland, with women having to work up to eight years longer than men to achieve the same retirement savings. On top of this, more than one in three Irish women have no retirement savings at all.

The European Parliament has woken up to the damage this is doing to our society and economy, with the Gender Equality Committee voting to take action to eliminate this gap today.

This gap is not driven by the State pension given that Ireland’s State pension system is largely gender neutral. The real inequality lies in private and occupational pensions, where women are far less likely to be covered and where contribution levels are significantly lower.”

The Midlands-North West MEP said that there are a number of factors that contribute to the gender pension gap.

“There are a number of factors that contribute to the gender pension gap; unequal burden of unpaid care work, lower-paid jobs, and disparities in financial literacy and education. My amendments to the report passed today reflect these factors and call for increased access to financial education and training for women and young girls.

Closing this gap is not only a social issue, and the economic consequences are also hugely important for the Irish economy.

When we speak about making Ireland and the EU competitive again, we cannot afford to overlook the impact of the gender pay and pension gaps. These cost Europe hundreds of billions of euro every year in lost earnings, lost productivity and lost contributions.”

MEP Maria Walsh concluded:

“Closing the gender employment gap could boost GDP per capita by between 3.2% and 5.5% by 2050 across the EU. At a time when we are working hard to make Europe more competitive, we cannot overlook an obvious solution right in front of us.”