Gender inequalities in care and consequences for the labour market

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of both paid and unpaid care work for a well-functioning society and economy. During the pandemic, the burden of work for carers has increased dramatically, whether they are lone parents taking care of their children at home or nurses treating patients in hospitals. Care workers were applauded and described as ‘essential workers’. Yet care work is among the most disadvantaged and underpaid professions in the EU. This undervaluing of care work is closely linked to the ideas that caring is a woman’s responsibility within the household and that it is something that is done for free. […] This report is part of the European Institute for Gender Equality’s work on monitoring the EU’s progress towards its gender equality commitments under the Beijing Platform for Action. It was prepared at the request of the German Presidency of the Council of the European Union. We are confident that this report and its findings and recommendations provide clear evidence of why care needs to be at the centre of EU policymaking if we want to keep moving forward with gender equality.