In Austria, women in multi-person households face a hidden reality: one in three is at risk of poverty without the income of other household members. Economic dependence is common and often invisible in statistics. Caritas Austria’s new study “Hidden poverty?” highlights how traditional gender roles, insufficiently recognised care work and gaps in social policies create a persistent poverty risk for women.

In Austria, a person living in a household with a total income above the at-risk-of-poverty threshold is usually considered financially secure, even if they have little or no personal income. But is that truly the case?

The Caritas Austria study “Hidden poverty? The poverty risk of non-sole-living women in Austria” by Katrin Gasior (SASPRI, 2025) examines individual incomes within multi-person households, highlighting blind spots in conventional poverty measurement. Using the EUROMOD microsimulation model, the study calculates individual poverty risks, traces developments over the past decade and analyses the impact of social and tax policies.

The findings reveal structural inequalities and economic disadvantages that often remain statistically invisible but are socially pervasive. When examining household communities in Austria, the poverty risk of women (32%) is about three times higher than that of men (11%).

One in three non-sole-living women would be at risk of poverty without the income of others in the household. In crisis situations, such as a separation, job loss or illness, a third of these women could fall below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold almost overnight. Economic imbalances shape power dynamics in households, often determining who manages resources and makes decisions as well as fostering financial dependence. In some cases, this dependence can hinder women from leaving abusive relationships.

The systemic nature of women’s poverty is closely linked to unpaid care work.

Crises tend to hit women hardest. A special analysis by Statistics Austria, commissioned by Caritas Austria, shows that events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and record inflation place heavier and longer-lasting burdens on female-headed households, with single mothers particularly affected. These structural disadvantages are reflected in Caritas’ daily work: women are more likely to seek social counselling, and single mothers make up over a fifth of the visitors to counselling centres — more than twice their share in the general population[1]. In times of heightened stress, women, especially mothers, are particularly dependent on social support.

This reality is illustrated in the story of Ms. D, a 38-year-old single mother of two who had never relied on social assistance until a cancer diagnosis forced her to spend her savings on treatments not fully covered by health insurance. Shortly after, the father of her children separated from her, providing no child support. Suddenly, her income no longer covered basic living costs, leaving her reliant only on the family allowance. Caritas stepped in to provide immediate support while she applied for a disability pension, child support and minimum income benefits. While these measures offer a potential pathway to stability, the process is slow, and it remains uncertain whether the benefits will be sufficient to cover her basic living expenses.

The systemic nature of women’s poverty is closely linked to unpaid care work. In Austria, women in multi-person households continue to take on most of the care responsibilities, from childcare to caring for relatives, which limits their capacity for full-time paid employment. The study shows that over half of women in these households work less than 35 hours per week, compared with only 7% of men. When employed similarly, the gender gap narrows among those working 20 to 34 hours weekly, 23% of women and 19% of men remain at risk of poverty. Motherhood further increases women’s vulnerability. The birth of a child significantly raises women’s poverty risk, with the gap widening for each additional child. In households with three or more children, women’s poverty risk (65%) is more than five times higher than that of men (12%). These disparities stem from entrenched gender roles: women continue to shoulder most of the care work, while men often experience economic benefits from family formation, including labour market advantages and lower individual poverty risk.

The study also reveals that social and tax benefits partially alleviate, but also perpetuate, these inequalities. While welfare measures reduce men’s poverty risk in households by 24%, the effect for women is only 21%. Many benefits are tied to earned income, so the effects of traditional gender roles and resulting income differences persist. Women in marginal part-time employment benefit the least, with the poverty risk reduced by only 6%. In contrast, family benefits are crucial for the financial security of non-sole-living women, particularly mothers of young children, reducing their poverty risk by 15%.

Over the past ten years, women’s individual poverty risk has declined only slightly, primarily due to their own efforts rather than systemic reforms. Between 2014 and 2024, the risk for women in multi-person households decreased by four percentage points. Social and tax reforms have often had little effect, in some cases even worsening slightly outcomes for non-sole-living women. The improvements mainly consist of better education and more consistent labour market participation among female pensioners.

Over the past ten years, women’s individual poverty risk has only declined slightly, primarily due to their own efforts rather than systemic reforms.

[1] ÖIF/Caritas, 2025

Recognising and valuing care work

Care work forms the backbone of Austria’s social and economic systems. Yet it remains unequally distributed, under-recognised and often poorly paid. This is a structural imbalance that significantly contributes to women’s higher poverty risk.

Gender-sensitive policy design is essential, especially during times of fiscal constraint. Sustainable equality between women and men requires that care work is fairly shared and adequately valued. Key measures include reforms to parental leave and childcare benefits, flexible working-time models, comprehensive and paid care services and proper recognition of caregiving periods in pensions. Short-term measures are also needed to ensure immediate support for women in vulnerable situations: poverty-proof social assistance, reliable maintenance guarantees and minimum pensions that allow a dignified life.

As Caritas, we emphasise that care work is not a barrier to labour market participation but an essential contribution that keeps our society functioning. One day, everyone will be affected by care work – whether as a provider or recipient of services – and it must be recognised and valued both socially and economically.

Sources:

Österreichisches Institut für Familienforschung im Auftrag der Caritas Österreich (2025): Caritas Sozialberatungsstatistik 2024.

Statistik Austria im Auftrag der Caritas Österreich (2024): Sonderauswertung „Krisenfolgen und die soziale Lage von Frauen“.

Katrin Gasior (saspri) im Auftrag der Caritas Österreich (2025): Versteckte Armut? – Das Armutsrisiko von nicht-alleinlebenden Frauen in Österreich

Find more information about poverty in Austria and the Caritas studies: www.caritas.at/armut-fakten