The Mission: Europe Cares for Us
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What is the challenge?
- Europe has an ageing population, with a reliance on social care that will only get heavier.
- The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of a functioning social care system, but also its precarious financial situation, which has been made worse by shrinking social care budgets.
- These cuts hit women hardest because it is usually women who shoulder the burden of unpaid care of children and the elderly.
- Those working in the social care sector are not as valued as they should be.
What is the solution?
This mission is to ensure social care for all by:
- Investing public money in the “care economy” according to its needs, which can be shown by a regular “wealth and well-being” report highlighting the advantages of good quality care in a welfare state.
- Ensuring that employed care workers enjoy decent work and pay.
- Comprehensively implementing the EU directive on parental leave, fostering more equal burden-sharing by encouraging men to take on their fair share of unpaid work, thus giving women the chance to achieve economic autonomy.
How would this mission benefit Europeans?
- The mission would ensure Europeans have access to quality social care in childhood, in sickness, and in old age.
- It would improve the lives of care workers and relieve women from the primary responsibility of unpaid care, thus helping to narrow the wage gap and reduce inequality.
- By regular reporting and monitoring, it would also reinforce the sense that the EU is serious about the well-being of all its citizens.