What changed

MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

P10_TA(2026)0190

on advancingAdvancing towards a care society: addressing the gender care gap

(2025/2039(INI))

Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality

PE776.815

European Parliament resolution of 21 May 2026 on advancing towards a care society: addressing the gender care gap (2025/2039(INI))

The European Parliament,

J. whereas the availability, accessibility and affordability of high-quality childcare facilities are crucial in enabling people, especially women with caregiving responsibilities, to participate in the labour market;

K. whereas the estimated amount of time devoted to informal care in Europe is 39 billion hours annually, equivalent to an economic value of around EUR 576 billion, representing approximately 3.633,63 % of Europe’s gross domestic product (GDP); whereas informal care is not adequately recognised or acknowledged in its different forms, ranging from daily support with personal care to occasional help with household tasks; whereas women are disproportionately responsible for providing such care, which reinforces gender disparities, limiting their ability to pursue formal employment, especially for younger informal carers; whereas the childcare gap remains one of the most pressing challenges new parents face in the EU and mainly affects women by delaying their return to work;

L. whereas digital innovation and the use of digital health tools can significantly improve quality and accessibility, especially in rural, remote and island areas and outermost regions, and thus should be actively promoted and supported; whereas the increasing role of digital platforms in the care sector carries gender implications, as it risks exacerbating existing inequalities;

M. whereas 88.288,2 % of the formal care workforce is made up of women, underlining that the psychological and organisational burden of care and household tasks continues to fall predominantly on women;

N. whereas women bear an overwhelming majority of informal care responsibilities, estimated at 80 %;

O. whereas this reinforces persisting related gender gaps across the EU and contributes to widening the gender care gap, limiting women’s ability to participate in the labour market and public life and to achieve economic independence; whereas the persistent gender gaps, including the 10 % gender employment gap, the 12 % gender pay gap and the 25 % gender pension gap among other factors, such as time employed in care, put women in vulnerable positions; whereas despite increased awareness of the gender care gap, a genuine cultural shift towards equal sharing of unpaid care work remains distant; whereas persistent gender stereotypes place the expectation of caregiving predominantly on women and girls, with these being reinforced online through social media; whereas cultural change, awareness-raising campaigns and educational initiatives promoting shared caregiving responsibilities can enable women to participate equally in society and ensure girls are free to pursue their ambitions without disproportionate care duties; whereas this care gap calls for measures to promote male participation in the sector and a more equal distribution of responsibilities; whereas according to the European Institute for Gender Equality’s 2024 Gender Equality Index, the EU average score for care activities is 78.778,7 points, reflecting persistent gender disparities in unpaid housework, childcare and long-term care; whereas the care workforce across Europe is ageing and facing recruitment and retention challenges;

P. whereas women consequently spend six additional years over their lifetimes providing unpaid care compared to men;

Q. whereas women play a key role in the care sector, and even after entering the labour market, they continue to bear the primary responsibility for household and care work; whereas time-use surveys are needed, focused on measuring the allocation of time spent performing care and domestic work; whereas care responsibilities keep approximately 7.77,7 million women out of the labour market, compared to just 450 000 men; whereas some women cannot fully enter the labour market due to the burden of carrying out informal care responsibilities; whereas the uneven distribution of unpaid care work hinders women’s access to full-time employment and contributes negatively to the gender income gap, resulting in fewer career opportunities or even accepting offers of jobs below their skills levels, leading to a loss of income and aggravation of the gender pension gap; whereas these detrimental effects are closely associated with the intensity of care provided and the duration of caregiving responsibilities; whereas single mothers are particularly affected by limited employment opportunities due to care duties; whereas single parents make up 12.412,4 % of EU households with children; whereas women are also disproportionately represented among single-parent families, with the figure standing at 85 %; whereas only half of the EU’s 42.842,8 million working-age persons with disabilities are in employment; whereas women with disabilities are particularly affected, with only 21 % in full-time employment;

R. whereas the double burden of care and work severely limit carers’ time for leisure and self-care, which places unpaid carers at much greater risk of (parental) burnout; whereas increased access to reproductive healthcare services and abortion services may help parents with their family planning and reduce stress resulting from unexpected pregnancies;

Care in numbers

1. Highlights that around 6.2million6,2million people in the EU are employed as formal care workers, while more than 53 million people provide informal, often unpaid, care work within their social environment, such as for sick or elderly family members, or family members with disabilities; notes that informal care accounts for between 30 % to 85 % of all care work;

2. Stresses that formal care work is often unrecognised, characterised by precarious working conditions, and physical and emotional strain, with wages 21 % below the average in long-term care and other social services, with women earning on average 20 % less than men; underlines that around 60 % of informal care work is carried out by women; notes that an estimated 32 million women provide informal care every week and perform an average of 17 hours of unpaid work per week;

6. Highlights that women represent 76 % of the 49 million formal care workers in the EU, accounting for 93 % of childcare workers and teaching assistants, 86 % of personal care workers in health services and households, and 95 % of domestic workers;

7. Notes the importance of recognising and developing the personal and household services (PHS) sector as key sector, as it encompasses all care work taking place in households, including direct (childcare, long-term care, live-in care for the elderly and persons with disabilities) and indirect care (cooking, ironing, cleaning, gardening, remedial classes); underlines the need to recognise, support and invest in PHS workers; notes that these services ‘support well-being at home for individuals and families, including childcare, long-term care for the elderly and disabled, cleaning, home repairs, tutoring, gardening, and ICT support’; stresses that there are around 6.86,8 million undeclared workers in the EU either providing care (2.1(2,1 million) or in direct household employment (4.7(4,7 million), of whom 90 % are women, the majority being middle-aged and non-EU nationals, who are often underemployed; recalls that the estimated number of undeclared workers in the PHS sector is 9.29,2 million people;

8. Notes that Eurofound findings show that when it comes to long-term care, for both women and men, there is a noticeable shift towards higher care intensity over time, with a growing proportion of unpaid carers reporting more than 20 hours of care per week in 2024 compared to 2014; notes that this trend is particularly evident in the highest care intensity category (51+ hours per week), which shows a marked increase for both genders; underlines that women consistently report higher levels of care intensity compared to men across all time periods, reflecting their disproportionate involvement in unpaid caregiving;

11. Emphasises that to close the gender care gap, cultural barriers and traditional gender roles need to be addressed in different areas of life simultaneously;

12. Notes that public expenditure on long-term care is expected to rise to 1.71,7 % of GDP by 2050 from 0.80,8 % of GDP in 2022; underlines that adequate and sustainable funding must be ensured;

13. Highlights that by 2070, almost 30 % of the EU population will be aged 65 or over, which, together with other factors such as higher life expectancy and the growing care needs of persons with disabilities, may lead to higher demand for care services that put significant pressure on health and welfare systems, while the number of people requiring long-term care is expected to increase from 30.830,8 million in 2019 to 38.1 million in 2050; notes that current needs already pose a challenge, where one in five persons in need of long-term care cannot access such services due to affordability constraints;

Towards a care society

26. Considers that particular attention should be paid to the care sector in the context of the 2028-2034 multiannual financial framework; highlights that ensuring sufficient funding in this area is necessary to support the implementation of the European care strategy and the European Pillar of Social Rights;

27. Recognises the importance of providing families, through a Member State fiscal system, with the option of hiring support in a responsible and transparent way to share care responsibilities;

27. Highlights that a care society integrates various care models, such as those by public or private providers, self-employed caregivers, or caregivers directly employed by households, and promotes the deinstitutionalisation of care through home or community-based services; emphasises the community-based and intergenerational approaches to care that promote solidarity, reduce social isolation and foster resilience in families and neighbourhoods; highlights also the importance of maintaining the right to choose the care model, in order to preserve the dignity of both carers and persons in need of care, as well as their autonomy, independence, well-being and inclusion in the community, taking into account the needs and aspirations of care recipients and ensuring protection against gender-based violence in care settings and including adequate and personalised support for informal carers; recognises that the formal long-term care sector still relies mainly on residential care, while home and community-based care better support the right of persons in need of care to live independently; notes the urgent need to prioritise a person-centred and rights-based approach that enables people to receive care at home and participate fully in society;

28. Highlights that a care society integrates various care models, such as those by public or private providers, self-employed caregivers, or caregivers directly employed by households, and promotes the deinstitutionalisation of care through home or community-based services; emphasises the community-based and intergenerational approaches to care that promote solidarity, reduce social isolation and foster resilience in families and neighbourhoods; highlights also the importance of maintaining the right to choose the care model, in order to preserve the dignity of both carers and persons in need of care, as well as their autonomy, independence, well-being and inclusion in the community, taking into account the needs and aspirations of care recipients and ensuring protection against gender-based violence in care settings and including adequate and personalised support for informal carers; recognises that the formal long-term care sector still relies mainly on residential care, while home and community-based care better support the right of persons in need of care to live independently; notes the urgent need to prioritise a person-centred and rights-based approach that enables people to receive care at home and participate fully in society;

28. Emphasises that targeted skilling, upskilling and reskilling programmes and support for (re)integration into the labour market without any form of discrimination against women who have experienced career interruptions because of their caregiving and household responsibilities are essential to support their continuous professional development and equal opportunities in the labour market; stresses, furthermore, that these women possess valuable transferable skills for further employment or entrepreneurship in the sector; calls for specific programmes and support to recognise these skills through training, certification schemes or business creation support, thereby facilitating their ‘reintegration’ into the labour market as individuals with valuable lived experiences, such as entrepreneurs and job creators; highlights the need for this training to be accessible, adequately funded and linked to quality employment opportunities;

29. Emphasises that targeted skilling, upskilling and reskilling programmes and support for (re)integration into the labour market without any form of discrimination against women who have experienced career interruptions because of their caregiving and household responsibilities are essential to support their continuous professional development and equal opportunities in the labour market; stresses, furthermore, that these women possess valuable transferable skills for further employment or entrepreneurship in the sector; calls for specific programmes and support to recognise these skills through training, certification schemes or business creation support, thereby facilitating their ‘reintegration’ into the labour market as individuals with valuable lived experiences, such as entrepreneurs and job creators; highlights the need for this training to be accessible, adequately funded and linked to quality employment opportunities;

Care at the heart of the economy

30.29. Considers that the care economy encompasses care work delivered through the public and private sectors, including small and medium-sized enterprises, civil society and any other type of organisation, the social and solidarity economy, and households, including care providers and recipients, as well as employers and institutions offering care services; stresses that the care economy must be recognised as a public good and a pillar of upward social convergence, supported through stable investment and quality job creation;

31.30. Emphasises the need to strengthen long-term care services, particularly home and community-based care, and the development of automated digital health monitoring technology;

32.31. Recognises that women entrepreneurs in the care sector face systemic barriers in accessing credit and investment; calls on the Commission and the Member States to develop dedicated support programmes for female entrepreneurship in the care sector, including specific guarantee funds, women-focused mentoring schemes and preferential criteria in the EU; calls for proposals for women-led enterprises innovating in the care economy;

33.32. Stresses that a care economy recognises care work as being vital to Europe’s resilience, contributing 11 % to the EU’s GDP and employing over 6 million people, the majority of whom are women, with the potential to create 8 million new jobs, and recognises the invaluable economic contribution made by informal carers; notes that the economic cost of the gender care gap could reach an estimated EUR 147-220 billion a year, while, simultaneously, research demonstrates that investment in the formal care sector could generate positive economic returns – at least EUR 4 for every EUR 1 invested in childcare or long-term care;

34.33. Emphasises the potential for employment and economic growth presented by the professional care sector and highlights that investment in care frees up informal carers to be more integrated into the labour market;

35.34. Encourages the Member States to develop local and regional care strategies, and targeted measures for quality and sustainable jobs in rural and remote areas, and outermost regions, thereby strengthening territorial cohesion and reducing labour market inequalities; considers that, for these areas in particular, EU funding instruments could be mobilised to support the creation of new, quality jobs in the care sector, thus addressing the phenomenon of depopulation in certain areas and labour shortages; calls on the Commission and the Member States to strengthen their support for non-profit social economy enterprises and organisations; encourages the Member States to facilitate access to funding and enhance the visibility of social economy actors, as highlighted in the 2021 social economy action plan;

36.35. Highlights the importance of social economy enterprises and cooperatives in providing care services in areas and for populations that are underserved by the traditional public or private providers, especially when profit motives are low;

37.36. Notes that gender mainstreaming and gender budgeting need to be implementedneeds to ensure adequate care investments and to monitor the gender-related effects of measures or lack thereof;

38.37. Stresses the need to ensure the participation of care workers and their representatives in all stages of policymaking, including the design, implementation and evaluation of policies that affect them;

39.38. Considers that future investments are required to equip both formal care workers and informal care providers, where relevant, with training, including targeted upskilling, especially in digital, interpersonal and health-related skills, including on the risks of physical or psychological abuse in care and health settings, as well as to deliver quality, person-centred care; insists on the central role of upskilling and reskilling in lifelong career management, as care professions change with the evolution of practices, technologies or even the organisation of care; considers that the accumulation of experience should be better valued through improved recognition of the expertise and qualifications acquired and through further opportunities for continuing education; considers, furthermore, that certification should be promoted to meet evolving needs, in particular with regard to recognising vocational education and training diplomas, ensuring jobs with long-term prospects that foster inclusion and growth; calls for EU-wide minimum standards for care training curricula, ensuring recognition of qualifications, portability of rights and career pathways for workers;

40.39. Notes that Europe is experiencing skills shortages across the economy, reinforced by a declining labour force; notes, furthermore, that some shortages can be traced back to the underuse of existing talent, as evidenced by deep gender gaps in certain occupations, or to the specific challenges surrounding working conditions, such as low pay or lack of attractiveness;

41.40. Highlights the need to support the development of online services and training to increase the digital competences of carers and persons receiving care, by improving internet access and connections so as to enhance the quality of care and benefit from technology in supporting quality care;

42.41. Stresses that unpaid care work has a social and economic impact; stresses that unpaid care work plays a critical role in European societies and economies, affecting workforce participation, particularly among women, contributing to persistent gender gaps in employment and pay, and placing significant pressure on social welfare, health and long-term care systems across Member States; calls, therefore, on the Member States to pay special attention to caregivers in early detection and prevention programmes; underlines the challenges, including socio-economic in nature, faced by informal carers, mostly women, who provide unpaid care work and face a combined work and care overload with limited social protection, insufficient formal care infrastructure and inadequate mental health support and whose contributions need recognition and targeted support; notes that informal carers can experience loneliness, poverty, difficulties in accessing employment or physical and mental health issues; emphasises, in particular, that the mental health issues associated with long-term care provision include anxiety and depression, which are 20 % more prevalent among informal carers than among non-carers, and that 66 % of formal care workers face mental health risks; notes that this is a significant disparity compared to the broader workforce, where 43 % report similar issues; observes that informal care responsibilities may limit the ability of the caregiver to attend their own preventive health appointments and can lead to a loss of income, contributing to women’s poverty; stresses that these detrimental effects are closely associated with the intensity of the care provided;

43.42. Denounces the fact that many care and domestic workers are facing a highly precarious situation and experiencing intersectional discrimination as a result of their race or ethnicity, gender, socio-economic status or nationality, and the fact that many of these workers are women who do not have an official employment contract, and are thus more vulnerable to exploitation and often lack access to their rights, in particular to decent work and social protection;

44.43. Calls for targeted financial support and initiatives that provide psychological and mental health assistance services to informal carers, including respite care to provide occasional relief, and for measures to prevent poverty and social exclusion, with the exchange of best practices in this regard across the Member States;

45.44. Stresses that adequate and targeted support for informal carers should comprise recognition of carers’ roles and rights, support services such as respite care, counselling, peer support, financial help and compensation to reduce poverty risk, flexible work arrangements (leave, working hours, teleworking) to balance care and employment, training and information to equip carers with skills and meaningful participation in policy development;

46.45. Highlights that significant efforts are needed to strengthen the professional status of care workers and to address the workforce shortages in the care sector, including through tailored solutions to encourage declared work, fair wages, career development pathways, and better and decent working conditions; underlines that investing in formal care services can significantly relieve the pressure on informal carers, and prevent some of the detrimental effects on their work-life balance and career prospects, thereby contributing to gender equality;

47.46. Emphasises the importance of ensuring access to adequate targeted psychosocial and educational support for young carers, providing care informally, who make up 4 % to 10 % of children in the EU and whose caregiving responsibilities affect their education, mental health, social development and future careers; urges the creation of dedicated EU programmes to support young carers, so as to avoid school or labour market dropouts;

48.47. Acknowledges that while a significant portion of care work is carried out by EU nationals, a share is also carried out by women originating from non-EU countries; stresses that, while efforts should concentrate on attracting and retaining domestic care workers, the recruitment of non-EU workers must be based on labour market needs, through well-managed legal migration and should include comprehensive professional training; emphasises that the recruitment of non-EU workers must take place exclusively through transparent and rights-based legal migration channels; calls for substantial investment in skills development and professional training to support the empowerment and integration of legal non-EU workers; strongly condemns all forms of undeclared work, exploitation and precarious employment and highlights the indispensable contribution of both EU and non-EU care workers to social cohesion and well-being in the EU;

49.48. Recognises that access to quality healthcare, including sexual and reproductive health rights, is vital to afford everyone a good quality of life;

The way forward

50.49. Calls on the Commission, together with the relevant agencies, to provide accurate, accessible and comparable data measuring the gender care gap, including through time-use surveys, in order to enable the Member States to share best practice and effectively address this gap;

51.50. Calls for the systematic collection of gender-disaggregated, accurate, high-quality, comparative data on care responsibilities in long-term and child care, on earnings, including salaries and wages, pensions, working time, social protection coverage, contractual status of care workers in the EU, and the situation of non-EU nationals and children who provide care and, where possible, data on PHS and informal care in order to monitor the amount of care provided by family members to their relatives and whether or how these care responsibilities affect their working lives;

52.51. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to collect data on the situation of young carers, and to develop EU-wide guidelines and exchange best practices to help Member States identify and support them in schools and communities, and through reinforced healthcare systems; calls on the Commission to establish a structured dialogue on care and to establish an annual care platform, which would bring together all relevant stakeholders, such as academics, Member State representatives, associations of persons receiving care, informal carers, social, for-profit, public and not-for-profit providers of care and trade unions, to assess progress, exchange innovative practices to improve the achievement of the objectives of the EU care strategy, and design the next steps for its ongoing implementation;

53.52. Urges the application of gender budgeting to ensure that spending on care services directly reduces inequalities faced by women and girls;

54.53. Stresses that the role of caregivers should be, above all, to take care, and therefore considers it necessary to cut unnecessary red tape and avoid as much as possible assigning them administrative tasks that can be managed by administrative assistants or suitable digital tools;

55.54. Emphasises the need to consult all relevant stakeholders during the preparation of the announced care deal, at EU, national and local level, including informal carer representatives and patient organisations, so as to avoid policy silos, and to take into account the diversity of situations and needs;

56.55. Calls on the Member States to invest in a care economy and to implement the Council recommendations on the revision of the Barcelona targets on early childhood education and care and on access to affordable high-quality long-term care under the EU care strategy, and to include in their implementation reports the identification of good practices, gaps and progress mapping, together with strategies to encourage greater participation of men in the care sector, and to address undeclared care work, identifying the main drivers and proposing tailored solutions; calls on the Commission to ensure that the European Child Guarantee has clear objectives and priorities, with the allocation of an ambitious dedicated budget of EURa 20substantial billion,budget, and encourages the Commission and the Member States to ensure affordable, high-quality and accessible care services for early childhood care and eldercare;

57.56. Emphasises that the care strategy should be aligned with the EU strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities as they address common challenges;

58.57. Stresses that care provided to persons with disabilities needs to prioritise autonomy, as these individuals should be able to decide where and with whom they live, as well as dignity and inclusion through a human-rights-based and person-centred approach, reflecting the ongoing shift in care provision; emphasises that this can be achieved by improving their care conditions, such as through high-quality, home-based care or other residential options that would meet their needs, including independent and accessible living, and by including persons with disabilities in the design of the care systems, while also promoting their education and training, including through digital solutions, thus creating an inclusive workforce and guaranteeing their access to employment;

59.58. Highlights that only half of the EU’s 42.842,8 million working-age persons with disabilities are in employment, with only 21 % of women with disabilities in full-time employment; calls, therefore, on the Commission and the Member States to encourage and train caregivers to support the integration of persons with disabilities into the labour market;

60.59. Stresses that particular attention should be given to informal carers, families and parents, especially mothers, who provide long-term care to children with disabilities, by ensuring adequate support, whether financial or through social security and access to respite and counselling services;

61.60. Stresses, in this regard, that, as an obligation stemming from the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the EU must systematically mainstream the rights of persons with disabilities through all programmes in the post-2027 multiannual financial framework by developing a methodology to track spending that benefits persons with disabilities, including women and girls, and by verifying that all programmes and EU-funded projects guarantee equal opportunities and access to EU funding for persons with disabilities;

62.61. Calls for the full implementation and further careful monitoring, enforcement and evaluation of the Work-Life Balance Directive; stresses the need to extend and advance towards an adequately compensated maternity, paternity and carer’s leave and facilitate the take up of parental leave as well as monitoring men’s uptake of such leave; calls on the Member States to upgrade the status of informal caregivers through appropriate remuneration and compensation and access to respite care services to better support current informal caregivers, while also helping achieve the directive’s initial objective of encouraging more men to become involved in providing care; urges the Commission to push for incentives for both parents to benefit from parental leave, calling furthermore for flexible working arrangements for parents, and to propose EU-level quality guidelines and the sharing of best practices for long-term care services, including for adequate staffing levels, specialised training programmes and quality assurance mechanisms; calls for employees, in particular women, who use their leave to provide care to their family members, to be effectively protected from dismissal or any discriminatory treatment related to their care responsibilities;

63.62. Urges the Member States to introduce adequately paid, non-transferable parental leave for each parent, to prevent women from being disproportionately burdened with caregiving responsibilities; underlines that improving men’s uptake of leave is crucial for shifting norms, ensuring women’s equal participation in the labour market and mitigating any negative intergenerational effect on girls;

64.63. Calls on the Commission to present a directive on the right to disconnect to protect all workers, particularly parents and caregivers;

65.64. Calls for the protection of informal carers, who are predominantly women, including those taking a break from employment to provide care to a family member or someone else in need of care; urges the Commission and the Member States to promote, recognise and support their role, acknowledging their vital contribution to social cohesion and to the sustainability of care systems across Europe; requests, in this regard, that their access to social protection systems be ensured in order to mitigate the adverse effects of caregiving, especially on women’s careers and economic independence, while ensuring, at the same time, that women are not pushed out of the formal labour market;

66.65. Urges the Commission to introduce a comprehensive, gender-responsive framework to identify and recognise the different forms of informal care across Europe in the next European care strategy; stresses that informal carers must be provided with support, flexible working arrangements, care leave and access to adequate supplementary care services, as well as counselling and peer support; underlines the importance of securing access to personal time for informal carers and of encouraging their personal development;

67.66. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to recognise unpaid carers by ensuring access to social protection, pension credits, respite services and financial support; stresses the need to progressively reduce unpaid care work borne by women and girls with solutions that redistribute burdens, such as investment in affordable childcare, eldercare and disability services, and the promotion of men’s equal participation in care work;

68.67. Points out that providing universal high-quality childcare services would reduce unpaid care work;

69.68. Calls on the Member States to share good practices on minimum respite periods for informal carers, ensuring their physical and mental well-being and enabling their continued participation in employment; calls for concrete support actions, such as awareness-raising campaigns, voluntary pathways to skills recognition and targeted training;

70.69. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to recognise young carers whose needs are often overlooked and to develop targeted support measures, including flexible education arrangements, counselling services and respite care, to prevent negative impacts on their health, education and future employment opportunities;

71.70. Encourages the Commission and the Member States to ensure that periods of informal caregiving are fairly recognised in pension and social security systems and in related future EU initiatives; encourages the Member States, furthermore, to explore fair and sustainable solutions to protect those – predominantly women – who dedicate significant parts of their working lives to caring for dependents;

72.71. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to improve working conditions in the formal care sector, focusing on ensuring fair and equal remuneration, with attention given to the physical and psychological demands linked to caregiving, as well as access to continuous training and safe working environments, including measures to prevent burnout and all forms of violence and harassment at work, while promoting the attractiveness of care professions through long-term perspectives, strengthening social dialogue and encouraging more men to enter and remain in the care sector; highlights that improving salaries and working conditions in the care sector will make jobs more attractive and discourage undeclared work; recalls the need for the Member States to properly transpose and implement the Pay Transparency Directive so as to establish pay structures that reflect the skills, responsibilities and social value of these roles, alongside clear pathways for women to progress to leadership and decision-making positions within the care sector;

73.72. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to further invest in high-quality vocational training and strengthen the recognition of skills acquired through formal and informal caregiving by integrating these skills into lifelong learning and upskilling policies, while also considering a certification process or other mechanisms for cross-border recognition of qualifications; encourages the adoption of digital health tools to boost the digital skills of care workers, such as the provision of remote support including telecare or video consultations; underlines that skills are not only acquired through formal education and that policy frameworks must acknowledge and validate alternative pathways to skills development; calls on the Member States to facilitate measures for a gradual and flexible (re)integration into the labour market of workers who have taken a long career break to provide care to relatives, including through upskilling and reskilling;

74.73. Underlines the employment opportunities that entrepreneurship can create in the care sector and stresses the importance of supporting women in the transition from informal caregivers to entrepreneurs in the care sector; urges the Member States to provide tailored entrepreneurial training pathways, simplified administrative procedures for the establishment of women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises and for self-employed women in the sector, and facilitated access to dedicated microcredit, recognising the economic and social value of such professional transitions;

75.74. Calls on the Commission to use the Union of Skills to boost education, training and lifelong learning in sectors with EU-wide labour market shortages, such as care work, ensuring upskilling and reskilling opportunities for all professional care workers and recognising vocational education and training diplomas;

76.75. Calls for the creation of a European carers’ statute to address the specific needs of formal carers, -such as recognition of skills acquired through care work, thereby integrating care workers, PHS, user-employers and institutional care in a common EU framework and definition, which would guarantee minimum standards of recognition and protection for carers across the Member States and reduce inequalities between them;

77.76. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to align the EU health strategy with the EU care strategy and foster synergies between EU4Health and other financing opportunities for the care sector in order to connect healthcare and social care systems and provide seamless support, especially for chronic conditions among the most vulnerable individuals;

78.77. Calls for a European action plan that contributes to closing the gender care gap and to supporting both formal and informal carers; calls, in this regard, for support for single parents and families in vulnerable situations, including those facing intersectional discrimination and compounded care needs and/or high intensity demands, focusing on social protection coverage, affordable, accessible and high-quality childcare, improved work-life balance, affordable and high-quality long-term care services, better working conditions in the care sector and the promotion of equality; calls, therefore, for this plan to focus on access to employment and training – including in digital skills, social protection coverage, care infrastructure and long-term services, childcare, PHS, psychosocial support and improved work flexibility;

79.78. Notes that proper access to reproductive healthcare and abortion services can help parents avoid the stress of unexpected pregnancies and contribute to family planning; calls on the Member States to provide affordable access to such services;

80.79. Calls on the Member States to fully utilise EU funds, such as the Recovery and Resilience Facility, EU4Health, the European Social Fund Plus and the European Regional Development Fund, to develop accessible, affordable and high-quality care services and facilities across all age groups, from early childhood to long-term care for older people and persons with disabilities; underlines the need to integrate the term ‘support’ alongside ‘care’ so as to fully capture the diversity of services and the rights-based perspective that guides them;

81.80. Welcomes the Commission’s announcement of a comprehensive European Care Deal to be published in 2027, thereby renewing the European care strategy as a more ambitious and coherent framework;

82.81. Calls on the Commission to address both formal and informal carers by promoting affordable and high-quality childcare, educational after-school programmes and long-term care services; stresses that it should take into account the recommendations included in this report, inter alia, to facilitate the recognition of skills and qualifications, support skills development, career progression and investment in care, and improve working and living conditions by utilising EU funds to promote fair employment and high-quality care;

83.82. Highlights that greater investment in public health and social care, including workers’ wages and training, is essential to improve recruitment and retention in order to secure quality jobs that increase the attractiveness of working in the care sector;

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84.83. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

The demand for care in the European Union is growing rapidly due to demographic change, labour market pressures and social transformations. At the same time, care provision remains under-recognised, under-resourced and unequally distributed, with women still bearing a disproportionate share of both paid and unpaid care responsibilities. This imbalance contributes significantly to gender gaps in employment, earnings, pensions and career progression, and limits women’s full participation in society and the economy. In this context, the report “Advancing towards a care society: addressing the gender care gap” aims to provide a coherent political vision and policy recommendations to reduce inequalities in care, strengthen the resilience of care systems, and advance gender equality across the European Union.

Care is a central element in ensuring well-being, dignity, and social equity. Effective care systems are essential for the realisation of human rights, as they enable individuals to fully exercise rights such as education, health, and participation in society. Recognising the social importance of care is crucial to addressing inequalities and promoting a fairer model of social development.

Care responsibilities are shouldered by women, both in domestic settings and in paid care work. Women form the invisible backbone of care systems, yet this central role has often been accompanied by economic inequality, lack of recognition, and restricted opportunities for personal and professional development. Addressing the gender dimension of care entails professionalising care work and fostering shared responsibility between men and women in domestic and societal contexts.

• The importance of a care economy at the heart of a stronger Union

The care economy constitutes a key pillar of Europe’s social and economic systems. It contributes significantly to GDP and employment, with over 6 million people working in the care sector1, the majority of whom are women. Despite this, care work remains undervalued and marked by low pay, difficult working conditions and limited career prospects. Enhancing the status and attractiveness of care professions is vital to addressing persistent labour shortages and to delivering quality, person-centred care. Investing in professional training, lifelong learning and improved working conditions will support the long-term sustainability and resilience of care systems.

Informal care, which continues to be provided primarily by women, represents a significant share of care provision in the EU. Yet it is often invisible in economic statistics and poorly supported in terms of social protection, pensions and mental health. The recognition and support of informal carers is crucial. Their role should be acknowledged through adequate rights, respite services, and the integration of caregiving experience into skills and employment frameworks. Particular attention must be given to young carers, whose education, well-being and development may be affected by their responsibilities.

In addition, the care economy is increasingly shaped by migration. Many care workers in the EU are women from third countries. Legal and well-managed migration policies can contribute to addressing care labour shortages, provided that they are based on fair recruitment practices, decent working conditions and access to rights. The alignment of care workforce needs with skills and migration pathways, including through the EU Talent Pool and the Union of Skills initiative, is essential to ensure a rights-based, inclusive and future-oriented approach to care provision.

The report makes a series of recommendations to reduce the gender care gap and promote structural changes. It calls for the full and effective implementation of the Work-Life Balance Directive and urges Member States to promote equal sharing of care responsibilities. It calls on the Commission and the Member States to improve working conditions in the formal care sector, including through fair remuneration, continuous training, career development and safe working environments. The attractiveness of care professions must be enhanced through long-term employment perspectives and professionalisation.

The report further encourages the recognition of periods of unpaid caregiving in pension systems and calls for the integration of care-related skills into upskilling and lifelong learning policies. The role of EU funding, including the ESF+, EU4Health and the Recovery and Resilience Facility, is highlighted as essential to developing accessible, affordable and high-quality care services across all life stages.

• Transforming the Future of Care – The importance of a care society

A first step was made at EU level through the first EU Care Strategy, from which we should build on in order to benefit from the EU added value of a common action.

Building on the 2022 European Care Strategy, further EU-led reform and investment in three areas could help to narrow the gender care gap:

• (1) Work-life balance;

• (2) Working conditions in the care sector and

• (3) Availability and accessibility of formal care services.

The European added value of further EU action could be driven by the extent of upward harmonisation in line with the European Pillar of Social Rights, the promotion of free movement of workers, and leveraging European economies of scale for reform and investment.

This reports highlights that efforts to strengthen care systems should encompass political, economic, and socio-cultural dimensions. Politically, care must be incorporated into national policies and social protection frameworks. Economically fair wages, and dignified working conditions for care workers is essential, alongside mechanisms to make the contribution of unpaid care visible . Culturally, raising awareness about the social value of care, promoting shared responsibilities, are fundamental to creating equitable and sustainable care systems.

The role of EU funding, including the ESF+, EU4Health and the Recovery and Resilience Facility, is highlighted as essential to developing accessible, affordable and high-quality care services across all life stages.

Finally, the report calls for improved data collection on the gender care gap and the systematic monitoring of the European Care Strategy’s implementation. It also calls for the alignment of the European care strategy with the Strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities 2021-2030, to ensure inclusive, innovative and accessible care systems. A dedicated European action plan to support single parents and vulnerable families is also recommended, with a focus on employment, childcare, psychosocial support and flexible working conditions.

The transition to a care society is a necessary condition for social sustainability, economic resilience and intergenerational solidarity in Europe. Reducing the gender care gap will require coordinated policy efforts, as well as adequate investments. This Report affirms its commitment to placing care at the centre of the EU’s policy agenda.

• Towards a Society Centered on Dignity and Equity

Care is central to human life, social cohesion, and the realisation of human rights. Building robust care systems strengthens the conditions for human dignity, facilitates the exercise of other rights, and contributes to more equitable, cohesive, and humane societies.

ANNEX: DECLARATIONS OF INPUT

Pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure, the rapporteurs declare that they included in their report input on matters pertaining to the subject of the file that they received, in the preparation of the draft report, from the following interest representatives falling within the scope of the Interinstitutional Agreement on a mandatory transparency register1, or from the following representatives of public authorities of third countries, including their diplomatic missions and embassies:

The list above is drawn up under the exclusive responsibility of the rapporteurs.

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