The third EZA snack debate on “Invisible yet Essential: Women in Europe’s Care Sector” was organized as online event by EZA on 3 December 2025. It was funded by the European Union. The event gathered more than 40 representatives of workers’ organisations from about 15 EU Member States, reflecting the transnational composition of EZA’s network and the European relevance of the topic.
The most important aspect of the event was to make the gender care gap visible as a structural economic and social problem in the EU, linking unpaid and paid care work to gender inequality in employment, pay, pensions and working conditions, and situating this debate within current EU policy processes, in particular the European Parliament’s work on a “care society”
The snack debate took place at a politically timely moment, as the European Parliament is preparing its own-initiative report on “Advancing towards a care society: addressing the gender care gap”, and as the implementation gaps of the Work-Life Balance Directive and the European Care Strategy have become increasingly evident.
The following topic fields were discussed:
Gender care gap: basics
Definition, key figures and main consequences of the gender care gap in the EU.
Structural factors sustaining unequal care responsibilities between women and men.
EU policy framework on care and gender equality
European Parliament’s Gender Equality Strategy and its link to the upcoming Commission strategy.
The Parliament’s own-initiative report “Towards a care society” and its main objectives.
Work-life balance
Role of the Work-Life Balance Directive in reducing the gender care gap.
State of implementation and possible improvements.
Care sector working conditions
Wages, working conditions and job quality in the care sector.
Measures proposed at EU level and the debate on collective bargaining and austerity.
Future EU initiatives
Potential contribution of upcoming EU initiatives (Quality Jobs Roadmap, Talent Pool, Gender Equality Strategy) to addressing the gender care gap.
Seminar results
Results of the discussions: Participants shared a common understanding that care work remains largely invisible and undervalued, that women carry a disproportionate share of care responsibilities, and that this directly feeds into gender gaps in employment, pay and pensions. There was broad agreement on the need to better integrate care into economic and social policymaking at EU and national level.
Demands: Key demands discussed included the full and effective implementation of the Work-Life Balance Directive, improved working conditions and pay in the care sector, better recognition of unpaid carers, increased investment in accessible and high-quality care services, and stronger EU-level monitoring and coordination through the European Care Strategy.
Consequences for daily work and follow-up: For participants and the organising organisation, the seminar reinforced the importance of integrating the gender care gap into trade union training, advocacy and policy work. EZA and its member organisations intend to use the seminar results to inform future training activities, awareness-raising among social partners, and contributions to EU-level policy debates on care, gender equality and work-life balance.