Early childhood education and care: the Barcelona targets for 2030 2022/C 484/01 - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 484/1

In order to remove disincentives to female labour-market participation, in 2002 the European Council in Barcelona established targets on childcare to be achieved by 2010: namely to provide early childhood education and care (‘ECEC’) to at least 33 % of children under three years of age and to at least 90 % for children between three years of age and the mandatory school age (1). While those targets have been reached as a European Union average, significant differences persist between and within Member States, in particular for children from lower income households and for the youngest group of children.

The objective of this Recommendation is to encourage Member States to increase participation in accessible, affordable and high-quality ECEC while taking into account the demand for ECEC services and in line with national patterns of provision, in order to facilitate women’s labour-market participation and enhance the social and cognitive development of all children, in particular of children in vulnerable situations or from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Care responsibilities for children, particularly for very young children, are a significant constraint on female labour-market participation. In 2021, in the Labour Force Survey, 27,9 % of women outside the labour force indicated that looking after children or adults in need of care was their main reason for not seeking employment, compared to only 8,0 % of men. In 2019, before the pandemic, those figures stood at 32,6 % and 7,6 %, respectively (2). At the same time, the employment rate for people with children below six years of age was 90,1 % for men compared to 67,2 % for women. Unpaid care responsibilities keep around 7,7 million women in Europe from participating in the labour market, compared to only 450 000 men. Women’s disproportionate share of care work is also one of the main root causes of the gender pay gap (3).

Women are also more likely to adapt their working patterns to care responsibilities. This has a lasting impact on their careers and contributes to the gender pay gap and to the pension gap. Employed women spend on average 90 minutes more than employed men on housework and direct care activities on a daily basis. Addressing gender gaps in employment represents a clear business case as it contributes to growth and is likely to generate positive impacts on productivity. In addition, addressing gender gaps has well-established positive impacts on poverty reduction and social inclusion and offers a way to respond to the problem of a shrinking workforce.

The availability of affordable and high-quality care services has a significant positive impact on the employment situation of carers, in particular women. As the provision of ECEC increased across the Union, the gender employment gap was reduced from 17,7 percentage points in 2002 to 10,8 percentage points in 2021. However, progress has stalled in recent years.

The European Pillar of Social Rights (the ‘Pillar’) highlights the importance of gender equality, work-life balance and ECEC as key objectives of the Union. The Pillar states that equal treatment and opportunities between women and men must be ensured and fostered in all areas, including as regards participation in the labour market, terms and conditions of employment and career progression. It also...