European Carers Day – Eurocarers

Why a European Carers Day

The idea is to coordinate and foster national efforts to raise awareness of carers’ issues under a pan-European structure. We will therefore be able to capitalise on existing actions and enable/facilitate new initiatives among less-advanced parts of Europe.

European Carers Day is celebrated every year on the 6th of October.

Why we need equality in caregiving

Working women spend on average 22 hours per week in unpaid work, while working men spend fewer than 10 hours and the demand on carer’s time is set to rise further due to the impact of the pandemic. This has a clear negative impact on women’s employment opportunities and working hours, with long-term care responsibilities tending to aggravate the gender pay and pension gaps – that already exist because of childcare responsibilities.

These gendered patterns of caring duties mean there is seemingly a disconnect between men and women’s support needs. Women disproportionately face greater emotional and mental health struggles than male carers (54% and 46%, respectively), and more women than men agree that there needs to be more mental and wellness resources available (54% and 46%, respectively).

The European Institute for Gender Equality’s (EIGEs) research shows that this unequal distribution of care and domestic responsibilities between women and men remains among the most problematic areas in the EU in term of gender equality.

Gender equality is a core principle of the EU, but it is not yet a reality. There is still a need for better measures to be put in place to tackle the gender equality gap in caregiving by addressing the lack of integrated policies supporting informal care and ensuring that care can be combined with employment and social inclusion. The upcoming European Care Strategy promised to address these issues and strengthen gender equality and social fairness.

What we are calling for

A redistribution of care responsibilities between men and women, as well as between the family and the State has become more critical and urgent than ever before. This year’s European Carers Day will focus on gender equality and work towards a fair and shared approach to caregiving responsibilities.