Lower Wages Leave Nearly a Million Portuguese Women on the Brink

Portugal’s economy is finally growing again, yet a stubborn paradox remains: nearly 1 million women are hovering just above the poverty line even when they have a job. New union data show that weak wages, erratic contracts and lower lifetime earnings keep women’s wallets thinner – and their old-age security shakier – than those of men.

A widening gap behind the headlines

The latest bulletin from the CGTP’s Commission for Equality places the female poverty risk at 17.6 %, versus 15.4 % for men. That may look like a narrow difference, but in absolute numbers it translates into 980 000 women in financial jeopardy. Without public social-security transfers, the union estimates the share of women falling below the poverty threshold would soar to 42.5 %. An economy characterised by modest productivity growth, soaring housing costs and rising energy bills magnifies the problem: the average woman still earns about €235 less each month than her male counterpart, according to the Labour Ministry’s most recent pay-gap barometer.

Why regular work is not a guarantee

Counter-intuitively, holding down a job is no longer a firewall against hardship. 8.3 % of employed women remain poor, a consequence of precarious contracts, involuntary part-time schedules and sectors where collective bargaining is weak. More than a quarter of female employees – roughly 590 000 workers – are tied to fixed-term or temporary deals, a form of precariedade that is especially common among younger graduates and migrant women. Salaries set at or just above the salário mínimo offer scant room for savings, leaving many workers one rent hike or medical bill away from the red.

Retirement and unemployment: the double bind

Inequality compounds over time. The CGTP calculates that 21.2 % of retired women live in poverty, the worst figure since 2007, because pensions mirror earlier wage gaps. The picture darkens further in the event of job loss: 42.7 % of unemployed women survived below the poverty benchmark in 2023, squeezed by low unemployment-benefit ceilings and patchy eligibility rules. Academic studies warn that this pattern will accelerate population ageing costs unless wage dispersion narrows.

From shop floor to São Bento: what can change?

Labour leaders accuse the draft State Budget for 2026 and the flagship package Portugal XXI of offering only cosmetic fixes. They want a general wage rise, stronger collective agreements, and a clamp-down on unpaid care work that disproportionately falls on women. Business groups counter that blanket pay increases could erode competitiveness, but even moderate voices in Parliament agree that pay-gap reporting rules must tighten. Pressure is also mounting to limit housing-cost burdens and to reinforce work-life balance policies such as affordable childcare and paid paternal leave.

Europe’s transparency clock is ticking

Lisbon has until mid-2026 to transpose the EU pay-transparency directive. Once in force, companies with more than 100 employees will have to disclose gender-disaggregated wage data and design corrective action plans if the gap exceeds 5 %. Officials at the Commission for Equality in Labour and Employment are already testing a voluntary “Equal Pay Seal” that rewards firms with narrow differentials. Analysts caution, however, that mere disclosure will not close the gap unless it is backed by rigorous enforcement and collective bargaining coverage.

The road ahead

With inflation retreating yet real wages still lagging 2019 levels, the coming budget debate will reveal whether political leaders have the appetite to tackle structural pay inequities. For the time being, the numbers are unequivocal: being a woman in Portugal still carries a higher price tag – one measured not in luxury goods, but in the everyday struggle to pay rent, heat a home and build a dignified pension.