Palma hears 90% of EU care staff are women

Care and motherhood must stop being treated as private matters and become a political priority for the European Union, Rosa Estaràs said in Palma, Mallorca, on 22 September. The PP MEP made the call at meetings organised by the European Parliament Office on the future of care and motherhood.

Estaràs, vice-president of the European Parliament's Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, said care and motherhood belong at the heart of EU equality policy. She described them as a right and as vital to building a fairer and more competitive society.

She said Europe had made progress on equality, but motherhood had not received enough attention. Mothers' physical and mental health, balancing work and family life, and sharing responsibilities more fairly remain major challenges for the EU, she said.

Estaràs pointed to new voting rights for MEPs during pregnancy and after giving birth. She said the measure would help women combine motherhood with public representation.

“If more women are to enter politics, institutions must also adapt to the reality of motherhood,” she said.

A report Estaràs helped prepare places care at the centre of the European project for the first time, linking it with equality, social cohesion and competitiveness. She called for care to be recognised as a fundamental right, better conditions for carers, a European Carers' Statute and a more balanced sharing of tasks between women and men.

She cited EU figures showing that women make up 90% of the formal care workforce and provide 75% of informal care. Millions of women leave work or cut back their professional activity because of family responsibilities, she said.

The European Parliament's work will feed into the future European Care Pact announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The initiative is intended to respond to an ageing population, strengthen care services and raise the standing of care work.

Topics: Politics

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com