“Poverty is Female” on June 6th at 9:05 p.m. on ORF 2
Vienna (OTS) – More than half a million women in Austria are considered to be at risk of poverty. This means that they have a per capita income of less than 1,600 euros per month. Single mothers, mothers with many children, minimum pensioners and women who are sick or caring for sick relatives are particularly affected. Women are more affected by poverty because they generally receive less money for their work, are often only able to work part-time because they have children, and therefore have low pensions. And it is not uncommon for women to do unpaid care work. For the “Am Schauplatz” report “Poverty is Female” – to be seen on Thursday, June 6, 2024, at 9:05 p.m. on ORF 2 – Gudrun Kampelmüller spoke to many women and she also tried to clarify with experts how the risk of poverty is could be combated most effectively.
The former entrepreneur Astrid E. slipped into what she calls “daily poverty management” due to the sudden death of her husband, a serious illness that left her unable to work, and the care of a 15-year-old daughter with trisomy 21.
Single parent Anita G. says her employer drove her into poverty through no fault of her own because he only paid her wages irregularly. Now she has resigned and is trying to collect the outstanding wages through court. However, without a salary she was unable to pay her bills and she and her child with special needs had already been threatened with eviction three times.
Christine K., on the other hand, lives on the minimum pension. The former office worker gave birth to five children and spent many years at home to look after the family. She was no longer able to return to work in her mid-40s. Now she lives on around 1,300 euros a month – far too little money to make ends meet. It wasn’t the first time that Ms. K.’s electricity was turned off because she couldn’t pay the bill. “But somehow it will work out,” she says, “I kept fighting my way up, even when I was at the bottom.”