As one of the shadow rapporteurs of the report I would like to congratulate to dr. Parvanova on the acceptance of her report, which aims to offer solutions in order to minimize the disadvantage of minority women induced by ethnicity and reinforced by gender-specific structures.
Although gender equality is far from being achieved in the mainstream society, Roma women, compared to their non-Roma counterparts, have lower life expectancy rates, lower education levels, significantly lower rates of employment and higher rates of poverty. In order to achieve full inclusion, gender statistics, indicators and benchmarks, as well as statistics broken down inter alia by gender and ethnicity, are crucial tools and necessary if progress is to be properly measured. The collection of disaggregated data is a prerequisite for protecting and promoting the rights of ethnic minorities and shall be complied with Member States’ rules on the protection of personal data. There is a very strong link between the level of education, the extent of economic activity and the probabilities of avoiding poverty for the whole family. That is why in the first place targeted policy actions are required to improve the access of Roma women to education and registered employment.