MLP in gender equality seminar - Support to lone parents - 21-22 October 2015 - France

The mutual learning programme, held in Paris on 21-22 October 2015, examined and discussed good practices from France and Germany in providing comprehensive support to lone parents in the framework of gender equality. The seminar was very relevant in the context of rising levels of lone parent poverty and exclusion across Europe and in informing current national and European policy debates in the framework of future gender equality policies and measures to strengthen the achievement of the Europe 2020 targets.

In France, a comprehensive approach to supporting disadvantaged lone parents has been implemented through a range of policy measures focussing on fighting poverty, social exclusion and inequality. With increasing rates of lone parent poverty, family entitlements and supports have been significantly increased in recent years. Good practices reflect a range of universal and selective benefits and supports that are coordinated to tackle poverty, access to employment, flexible childcare, mediation and family support, and social supports to promote the inclusion and wellbeing of children. They include the introduction of a maintenance payment guarantee scheme (GIPA), currently being piloted in twenty departments. It combines income protection with information and mediation for families during and after separation, support with finding work, flexible childcare, and a range of family support services. The objective is to promote social and economic inclusion and co-parenting after parental separation. A good practice from the Institute for Education and Practical Training demonstrates an innovative system of support to assist lone parents’ reintegration into employment, provided through a job seekers network, alongside the provision of flexible and longer childcare services.

Measures to support lone parents’ integration into employment in Germany have been developed through a range of family- and gender-sensitive measures. The emphasis has been on coordination between local bodies, which has been implemented through a strategic partnership on lone parents at the Federal level. Good practices include initiatives to promote networking and learning on reconciliation of work and family life for lone parents, individualised support to enter the labour market, inter-agency networks to provide coordinated support, and networking with employers to improve employment opportunities. A further innovative approach is the appointment of Officers for Equal Opportunities in 500 job centres, who provide support to lone parents, sensitise employers and establish effective inter-agency networks.

The discussion among the participating countries highlighted the importance of a comprehensive and coordinated approach to addressing the risks associated with lone parents’ social and economic disadvantage. Participants stressed that lone parents are a heterogeneous social group with different family and life-course experiences and risks. Key issues discussed are the need for wellbeing of children and a child’s rights perspective to be kept at the forefront of all policy debates. Encouraging fathers’ participation, through fathers’ quotas for paid parental leave and family mediation are also important in encouraging co-parenting after separation. As well, the provision of affordable and flexible childcare and access to quality employment, with working hours that enable lone parents to balance work and family life, are crucial to avoiding in-work poverty. The discussion emphasised the need to prioritise support to lone parents and their children, better research and data to understand the complexities of lone parenthood, and the need to embed policies and strategies within a gender equality framework.