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REPORT (2025/2039(INI))

On advancing towards a care society: addressing the gender care gap

A-10-2026-0083

Committee on Employment and Social Affairs Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality · Rapporteur: Eleonora Meleti, Rosa Estaràs Ferragut

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This resolution on advancing towards a care society addresses the gender care gap, calling for measures to value care work, support carers, and promote equal sharing of responsibilities. It urges the Commission and Member States to improve working conditions, invest in care services, and implement the Work-Life Balance Directive, including paid carers' leave. It calls for recognition of informal carers, data collection, and a European carers' statute, as well as a European Care Deal in 2027.

Key points

  1. Highlights that informal care accounts for 30% to 85% of all care work, with women providing around 60% of it.
  2. Calls for closing the gender care gap by addressing cultural barriers, promoting equal sharing of care, and supporting work-life balance.
  3. Urges Member States to go beyond the five days of carers' leave in the Work-Life Balance Directive and ensure it is paid.
  4. Calls for investment in care services, especially home and community-based care, and for gender budgeting.
  5. Demands better working conditions, fair pay, and training for care workers, and recognition of skills acquired through caregiving.
  6. Calls for support for informal carers, including respite care, psychological support, and pension credits.
  7. Urges the Commission to present a directive on the right to disconnect.
  8. Calls for a European carers' statute and a European action plan to close the gender care gap.
  9. Welcomes the announcement of a European Care Deal in 2027 and calls for its preparation with stakeholders.
  10. Calls for systematic collection of gender-disaggregated data on care, including time-use surveys.

Who is affected

  • Formal and informal carers, predominantly women, will benefit from improved recognition, support, and working conditions.
  • Care workers, including migrant women, will see calls for fair wages, legal migration channels, and protection from exploitation.
  • Persons with disabilities and older people are targeted for person-centred, home-based care and inclusion.
  • Young carers will receive targeted support to prevent negative impacts on education and health.

Figures and deadlines

  • Informal care accounts for 30% to 85% of all care work.
  • Wages in long-term care are 21% below the EU average.
  • Women provide around 60% of informal care work.
  • The gender pay gap was 38% in 2024.
  • The gender pension gap was 25% in 2025.
  • Public expenditure on long-term care is expected to rise to 1.7% of GDP by 2050.
  • By 2070, almost 30% of the EU population will be aged 65 or over.
  • The number of people requiring long-term care is expected to increase from 30.8 million in 2019 to 38.1 million in 2050.