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Vienna, 05 March 2010 – In the past decades, women have successfully caught up in education and employment. The labour participation rate of women aged 15 to 64 years rose from 61% (1998) to 69% (2008). Yet, the increase in female employment is mostly due to a rise in part-time work. In 2008, approximately 42% of women in employment worked part-time. Women (4%) are still underrepresented in management functions compared to men (8%) and also earn considerably less than their counterparts. According to the EU-structural indicator "gender pay gap" women earned 25.5% less than men. Lower incomes and the differences in employment opportunities for women and men ultimately result in women being at greater risk of poverty. Single parents’ (of which most are single mothers) risk of poverty stands at 29%.

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