Andorran Women Comprise 60%+ of Economic Aid Recipients Due to Structural Inequalities

Judith Pallarés, secretary general of the Andorran Women's Institute, attributes the fact that women account for over 60% of occasional economic aid recipients to deep-rooted structural inequalities in the labour market, unpaid care work, and shorter contribution histories, particularly among older generations.

Statistics department figures for 2025 confirm this pattern persisted throughout the year. Women made up 65.7% of beneficiaries in the first quarter (800 cases), 63.2% in the second (371 cases), and 60.6% in the third (356 cases). Pallarés views these proportions as evidence of long-term imbalances.

She highlighted women over 65 with low pensions resulting from interrupted or partial work careers. Many had stayed home to handle family care responsibilities, which went unrecorded and unremunerated, leaving them without sufficient personal resources in later life.

The trend extends to single-parent families headed by women. In the third quarter of 2025, the categories "single-parent women families" (8% of total aids) and "accredited single-parent women" (12.9%) together comprised 20.9% of all grants awarded—one of the largest groups statistically. This share reached 25.1% in 2024. By contrast, single-parent families led by men ranged from 2.4% to 3.4% in 2025 and around 2-3% in prior years.

Pallarés noted that such disparities stem not only from family structures but also from prolonged vulnerability, especially due to delays in child support payments. Legal enforcement through seizures has strengthened, she said, but the process takes time. Often, families must seek public support for months before the paying parent complies, turning short-term needs into ongoing reliance on state aid.

Overall, Pallarés argued that low pensions, historic labour disparities, single parenthood, and challenges collecting child support create conditions that entrench women's economic fragility over time. These are not temporary issues but structural factors building across lifetimes.