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Advancing towards a care society: addressing the gender care gap

TA-10-2026-0190 · P10_TA(2026)0190 · PE776.815

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✦ In short · AI summary of this text, generated 4 Sept 2026

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Parliament's resolution on the gender care gap calls for a care society that values formal and informal care, addresses the unequal burden on women, and promotes equal sharing of care responsibilities. It urges measures to improve working conditions, pay, and training for care workers, support informal carers, and collect better data on care. It calls for a European Care Deal, a European carers' statute, and a directive on the right to disconnect, and for using EU funds to invest in care services.

Key points

  1. Highlights that informal care accounts for 30% to 85% of all care work, with women providing around 60% of it, and that the care sector employs over 6 million people, mostly women.
  2. Calls on Member States to go beyond the five days of carers' leave in the Work-Life Balance Directive and make it adequately paid.
  3. Urges the Commission and Member States to improve working conditions, ensure fair pay, and invest in training and upskilling for care workers, including digital skills.
  4. Calls for support for informal carers, including psychological support, respite care, financial help, and recognition of their role, and for measures to reduce unpaid care work by women.
  5. Demands better data collection on the gender care gap, including time-use surveys and data on young carers, and a structured dialogue and annual care platform.
  6. Calls for a European carers' statute to guarantee minimum standards of recognition and protection for carers across the EU.
  7. Urges the Commission to present a directive on the right to disconnect to protect workers, particularly parents and caregivers.
  8. Calls for a European action plan to close the gender care gap, supporting single parents and vulnerable families, and for a European Care Deal in 2027.
  9. Calls on Member States to fully use EU funds to develop accessible, affordable, and high-quality care services across all age groups.

Who is affected

  • Formal and informal carers, predominantly women, including young carers and migrant workers.
  • Care recipients, including older people, persons with disabilities, and children.
  • Care sector employers and social economy enterprises.
  • Member States and the European Commission, which are called on to implement policies and fund care.

Figures and deadlines

  • 21% below EU average wages in long-term care and other social services.
  • 39 billion hours annually of informal care, equivalent to around EUR 576 billion, about 3.63% of EU GDP.
  • 88.2% of formal care workforce is women.
  • 80% of informal care responsibilities borne by women.
  • 7.7 million women kept out of labour market due to care, compared to 450,000 men.
  • Economic cost of gender care gap estimated at EUR 147-220 billion a year.
  • Investment in formal care could return at least EUR 4 for every EUR 1 invested.
  • Mental health issues 20% more prevalent among informal carers than non-carers.

Legal basis: Articles 8, 19, 153 and 157 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union