An Invisible Crisis? (2010)
Women’s poverty and social exclusion in the European Union at a time of recession
- Oxfam LEF women in recession an invisible crisis March2010 final
In October 2009, Oxfam and the European Women’s
Lobby (EWL) commissioned research to explore and
analyse the hidden impact of the current economic
recession on women’s poverty in EU countries.
The research was conducted with EWL member
organisations, and supplemented with other research
and information available at the end of 2009.
Oxfam and EWL conclude that the research gives a
snapshot of the current position of women in poverty,
reinforcing what is already known about the persistent
social exclusion experienced by many women. It also
provides some evidence that the impact of recession
is making the inequality faced by women even worse.
It is difficult to separate out evidence of women’s longterm
poverty from the effect of the current recession
– and further research is needed in this area. But the
evidence here clearly indicates that the recession is
already having a significant negative effect on the lives
of women, not only in relation to the labour market, but
also, crucially, outside it. However, the impact of the
recession – direct and indirect – on women remains
largely invisible, and further in-depth analysis is
urgently required.
This report documents evidence of: precarious working
conditions; increasing discrimination in the labour
market with a subsequent shift to informal work; rising
levels of poverty; reduced access to services; and
rising levels of domestic violence, accompanied by
cuts in vital support services.
Please click on the image to download the report.
