Address the gender gap in informal long-term care, particularly in caring for older family members, which reinforces gender inequality in the labour market. Create systemic changes that support informal caregivers, especially women, and promote gender equality in care and employment through cross-sector collaboration with employers, policymakers, media, and civil society.
Context
Care responsibilities significantly limit women’s participation in the workforce, reinforcing gender inequality. Across the EU, 52 million people provide informal long-term care, with women representing the majority (59%). This gender imbalance affects employment, as women caregivers are more likely to work part-time or leave the workforce, leading to wage losses and lower pensions.
The 2019 EU Work-Life Balance Directive introduced measures such as carer’s leave and flexible working arrangements to support informal caregivers. However, its implementation varies across member states, and uptake remains low, particularly among men. Without adequate financial support or broader structural changes, the directive alone is unlikely to close the gender care gap.
Objectives
- To enhance understanding of the gender gap in informal long-term care, especially in caring for older adults, and the availability of good practices, tools, and resources for promoting work-life balance and gender equality in employment.
- To build the capacities of employers, managers, and human resources personnel on how to implement flexible work conditions and practices and foster the equal inclusion of men and particularly women caregivers in the labour market.
- To promote the adoption and effective enforcement of national and EU legal and policy frameworks that support gender equality in informal long-term care, while advocating for necessary policy reforms.
- To challenge gender stereotypes and traditional perceptions in society and the media that sustain the gender care gap, promoting diverse representation and equal sharing of informal care work.
- To raise public awareness on the existence of the gender divide in informal long-term care, the demanding nature and increased skills required, the obstacles and difficulties faced by carers and particularly women, and the impact of caregiving responsibilities on gender equality.
Activities
- Desk and field research to assess the current state of informal long-term care and collecting resources, good practices, and tools to promote work-life balance.
- Developing an interactive online training programme for employers, managers, and HR personnel, focusing on tackling stereotypes, biases, and building practical skills and policies.
- Online training of trainers to equip project partners on the gender care gap in the informal long-term care sector.
- Training for employers, managers, HR personnel, and specialists to foster inclusive workplace policies.
- Advocacy campaigns including consultations with policy makers and developing policy recommendations.
- Multi-stakeholder roundtables with policymakers to present policy recommendations.
- Developing a toolbox on how to avoid gender stereotyping in the media.
- Info sessions for mainstream and online media professionals and content creators.
- Online awareness campaigns in the 5 partner countries to highlight the gender care gap, challenge traditional gender roles, and promote gender equality.
- National launch events across partner countries
- Final Conference to engage key stakeholders from the private, public, third, and media sectors.
Resources
- Mapping the Gap Report – A transnational report consolidating resources and insights from national and EU levels on the gender gap in long-term care, particularly in caring for older adults.
- E-learning platform – A platform hosting a training programme for employers, managers, and HR personnel to tackle stereotypes, conscious and unconscious biases, and develop practical skills and policies.
- National training evaluation reports – Overviews of the training sessions implemented in each country, including evaluation and impact assessment results
- Summary evaluation report consolidating national findings and recommendations for improvement/mainstreaming from the training sessions.
- Policy recommendations paper – outlining national and EU-level recommendations for improving existing legal or policy frameworks and their enforcement measures, policy reforms in formal care services, action plans and strategies for effective implementation of Work-Life Balance Directive.
- Toolbox on avoiding gender stereotyping in the media – A guide and resource kit for identifying and combating gender stereotypes while promoting diverse representation in mainstream and online media.
Impact
- Greater awareness across 5 countries and the EU of the gender gap in informal long-term care, particularly in caring for older adults, and its impact on women’s participation in the labour market.
- Enhanced skills and knowledge of 20 project staff and 500 employers, managers, HR personnel, and specialists on implementing flexible work arrangements to support informal carers, especially women.
- Strengthened cooperation among 75 policymakers and decision-makers from the public, private, and third sectors, fostering policy reforms for gender equality in informal long-term care.
- Improved media engagement, with 100 mainstream and online media professionals sensitised on challenging gender stereotypes and promoting diverse representation in caregiving roles.
- Increased public awareness of the gender divide in informal long-term care, its challenges, and the barriers faced by carers, particularly women with 150-200 representatives from key sectors attended national launch events and 80 participants at the Final Conference.
Partners
- ICCV (Romania, coordinator)
- CCIR (Romania)
- CSI (Cyprus)
- PCCI (Cyprus)
- SYMPLEXIS (Greece)
- D&I (Greece)
- FSMLR (Spain)
- Camara Oficial de Comercio e Industria de Badajoz (Spain)
- CESIE ETS (Italy)
- Confesercenti Provinciale di Palermo (Italy)
