E. whereas women's participation in the labour market reflects their role in the household, and women tend to take up jobs that enable them to combine paid and unpaid work,

24. Points out that in most EU Member States, social welfare systems do not take sufficient account of the specific conditions of women living in poverty; underlines that the risk of falling into poverty is greater for women than for men, particularly in old age, where social security systems are based on the principle of continuous remunerated employment; points out that in some cases, women do not fulfil this requirement because of interruptions in their work, due to the unbalanced distribution of remunerated and unremunerated work; stresses moreover that older women also face greater obstacles to re-entry into the labour market;

Hence, in analysing the impact of economic and budgetary policies on gender, i.e. on the lives of men and women, it is useful to consider the economic context not just in monetary terms but also in terms of the people's quality of life, the role and contribution of unpaid work in the field of social reproduction (domestic and care work) should be incorporated into that of paid work in any economic analysis of political options and decisions in the overall context of the public responsibilities taken on by governments and local authorities.

The Netherlands increased the tax credit for people in work and for working parents, and intends to increase it further, in order to promote the outflow from benefits to paid work.

The time-use survey will provide additional non-monetary information on living conditions and enable the Commission to present statistics on the full contribution (namely paid and unpaid work) of men and women to the economy.

The European Union has instituted a new partnership between women and men, involving equal sharing of paid and unpaid work, and equal participation of women and men in civil, political, economic, social and cultural life.