Invisible Women, Invaluable Care: Why the 2026–2030 Gender Strategy Must End the “Care Tax” on Female Carers
By: Shannon Pfohman, Executive Director of Eurocarers
On the occasion of International Women’s Day, and as the European Commission prepares to unveil the 2026–2030 Gender Equality Strategy, it is time to turn the spotlight on the silent backbone of Europe’s social model: millions of hidden, informal women carers. While “equality” is debated in Brussels, a disproportionate number of women are silently subsidising our societies, often at the cost of their own health, financial security and careers. This isn’t just a labour statistic; it is a silent indictment of a system that treats women’s often “invisible”, unpaid labour as an infinite resource. As a reminder, informal carers provide 80% of long-term care across the EU.
The mathematics of inequality
The numbers tell a story of “managed exhaustion.” While women in Europe live longer than men, they spend more of those years in ill health and at a higher risk of poverty. This “gender care gap” is the root cause of the persistent 25% pension gap[1] that haunts older women. By stepping out of the workforce to care for an aging parent or a child with a disability, for instance, women aren’t just losing a salary today; they are paying a hidden “care tax” that depletes their future financial security.
Beyond career interruptions, we know from the data that informal carers face further financial precarity due to direct costs associated with the care they provide, such as the costs for medication, heating, special diets, medical devices, and home adaptations. Also, the lack of long-term care services creates poverty among women living longer in poor health.
This contributes to the feminisation of poverty
The ‘cost’ of caregiving is even higher for carers who experience other forms of discrimination and vulnerability in society, for example, carers with a migrant background, or young carers. And with the cost-of-living crisis still biting, as of 2026, the poverty gap between carers and non-carers is widening, not shrinking.
From patchwork to protection
The European Care Strategy and the Work-Life Balance Directive were welcome first steps, but they have left us with a patchwork of protection. In some Member States, “carer’s leave” is a paid right; in others, it is a five-day bureaucratic hurdle. In many cases, the right to request flexible working arrangements effectively becomes a right to be told ‘no’. We recently saw the consequences of this in Belgium, where carers were left in a “limbo” of unemployment benefits because no formal “carer status” existed to protect their social rights.
If the 2026–2030 Gender Equality Strategy and the upcoming EU Anti-Poverty Strategy are to be more than just “monitoring exercises,” they must integrate these long-term care concerns, particularly as they impact on informal carers. Afterall, the poverty crisis cannot be solved without addressing the care crisis.
Eurocarers’ five pillars for change
For this reason, Eurocarers calls on the Commission and the Parliament to move beyond “exchanges of best practice” to deliver as a minimum the following five pillars:
First, a recognised binding framework for carer status: We echo the demands of the EP Champions for Informal Carers, calling for a common EU definition of “informal carer.” We must ensure that informal carers’ recognition and social rights are protected across borders; No woman should lose her social rights because she chooses to care, nor if she moves transnationally.
Second, direct income support: We need care allowances that aren’t just symbolic, but functional. We need measures that are easy to access, and aim to reduce the administrative burden for carers as a whole.
Third, pension crediting: We should look to the Irish model, where over 20 years of long-term care is now recognised and treated as social insurance contributions. Such a care allowance is needed as a standard across the EU. We need to ensure that “time off” to care is recognised as “time on” for society.
Fourth, improved data: We need better tools to provide a detailed picture of carers’ access to pension rights.
Finally, a “care-in-all-policies” approach: We need to mainstream the Care Strategy into every single Strategy and policy discussion, call for a strong and compelling Care Deal, and work together to strengthen its implementation at national level. Because if we don’t solve the care crisis, we will never solve the poverty crisis.
Gender equality will remain a myth as long as our economic policies treat care as a private family matter rather than a public good. Building an “ageing society” that is both resilient and fair requires us to stop treating women’s unpaid labour as an infinite resource. If the 2026–2030 Strategy fails to address the structural precarity of informal care, it isn’t a strategy for equality – it’s a plan for managed exhaustion.
This March 8th, let’s give Europe’s carers more than applause. Let’s give them rights, recognition and a seat at the legislative table.
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