Energy poverty is a significant problem in many parts of Europe, as households struggle to pay rising energy costs. The women’s rights and gender equality committee meet with members of national parliaments from EU countries ahead of International Women’s Day (on 8 March) and discuss the gender aspects of energy poverty. Extracts from the meeting, statement by Robert BIEDROŃ (S&D, PL), FEMM Chair and extracts from the exhibition on "Generation Equality - Picture it".

Brussels

statement

meeting

PAPADIMOULIS, Dimitrios (The Left, EL)

International Women's Day (T)

interparliamentary meeting

Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality

BIEDROŃ, Robert (S&D, PL)

Gender aspects of energy poverty - Inter-parliamentary meeting on International Women’s Day 2023: extracts from the meeting, statement by Robert BIEDROŃ (S&D, PL), FEMM Chair, and extracts from the exhibition on "Generation Equality - Picture it"

Title:  Gender aspects of energy poverty - Inter-parliamentary meeting on International Women&#8217;s Day 2023: extracts from the meeting and statements (EBS

SOUNDBITE (Greek), Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS (The Left, EL), <p>Half of single women last year before Putin's invasion had difficulty in heating up their houses and pay their bills, and poorer families who had older houses or poorly built houses, poorly insulated houses had to spend more energy in order to heat them. Robert mentioned 120 million that, according to Eurostat, are already below the poverty line</p>  <p></p>

SOUNDBITE (English), Laurence GILLOIS, Director UN Women, This affects particularly rural women and girls living in least developed countries. In the EU, women are also particularly affected by energy poverty as they represent 85% of single parent families. As was said also in the introduction, which have also a particular high risk of child poverty. This does not only hinder the development of their full potential and their enjoyment of a range of human rights, including access to education and right to work, but also contributes to increasing their risk of being exposed to gender based violence.

SOUNDBITE (English), Katharina HABERSBRUNNER, Head of Energy, Climate and Gender Women Engage for a Common Future, We need another policy designed to reshape our policy and to have a cross-sectoral coherent strategy to include feminist organisations as political advisers, to have a right for everybody, for all to clean, affordable energy for all, and to have inclusion and affordable accessibility at the forefront.

SOUNDBITE (English), Juliana WAHLGREN, Director of the European Anti-poverty Network, If we can combine income support for energy bills and energy crisis with a structural support coming from social protection benefits, we can find at least a good solution in the long term.

SOUNDBITE (English), Carlien SCHEELE, Director of the European Institute for Gender Equality, We need to eliminate deepening inequalities for a fair and just transition in energy and other areas. I guess Gender Equality index, which I hope you all know, the Gender Equality Index measures the progress of gender equality in the European Union as a member state and EU level. We look at six different domains. We need to eliminate deepening inequalities for a fair and just transition in energy and other areas.

SOUNDBITE (English), Carlien SCHEELE, Director of the European Institute for Gender Equality, Energy poverty affects women and men, not households. The EU A member States must collect gender statistics to appreciate women and men's different needs. So in times of crisis, the responses fit for each and every purpose.

SOUNDBITE (English), Robert BIEDROŃ (S&amp;D,PL), FEMM Chair, It's clear in this energy crisis that, again, the highest bill will be for women to pay. And we as European Union, we should introduce a policy where no one is left behind, that no and women is paying again these highest price. And this should be the main goal for us that we will protect our citizens against the poverty. And there are many obstacles, of course, starting from that common definition of energy poverty. Nothing like that exists on the European ground on a national level.

SOUNDBITE (English), Robert BIEDROŃ (S&amp;D,PL), FEMM Chair, Statistics show clearly that single mothers and women running the single household, they pay the highest the highest price. Why? Because they earn less than men. They are pensioners are lower than men because of gender pay gap. And with this we should understand that for gender mainstreaming in our policies. Address for gender budgeting in all policies, address on European level and Member States level, we can address this issue.

Extracts from the exhibition on "Generation Equality - Picture it" (4 shots)