20
May
2026
Watch
Advancing towards a care society: addressing the gender care gap (debate)
Mr President, Commissioner, on whose shoulders is the well-being of the European Union sustained? As long as the Commission is fed up with talking about growth and competitiveness, millions of women are sustaining their lives. 76% of care is provided free of charge by women; the rest take care in a very poorly paid way and, too many times, take care without rights. The care chain is almost never named, but many women can enter the labor market because others leave their children in their countries to care for ours, and that is also very painful. They are women essential to our societies, but invisible to our laws. That has a name: inequality, and it also has gender, class, and origin. The far right presumes to protect the family, but does not want to talk about who cleans or who cares, because recognizing it destroys their false story. It is time for Europe to recognise the social and economic value of care. We need decent wages, labour rights and regularisation pathways for migrant workers, as Spain has done. Caring is not a feminine obligation. Caring is a collective responsibility.