10.05.22
The European Commission (EC) has announced its new plan to develop a European Care Strategy expected to strengthen long-term care and early childhood education and care, as envisaged under the European pillar of social rights.
The strategy will further help reinforce gender equality and social fairness. The initiative will propose two Council recommendations, on childcare (revision of the Barcelona targets) and on long-term care. The goal of the revision of the Barcelona Targets is to increase women’s participation in the labour market, which will contribute to reaching the EU’s employment deadline target. At Make Mothers Matter, we believe achieving the Barcelona targets is fundamental to allow women to better conciliate work and family life and to reduce the gender gaps in employment, income, and pension.
To aid the development of the Strategy, MMM contributed to the EC Call for evidence and a joint answer together with its partners of the Alliance for Investing in Children.
MMM has built upon the UN Charter on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) to formulate recommendations that are centred on children’s rights. Since children’s rights and parents’ rights are interconnected, these recommendations serve to bring about equality for mothers by reinforcing the rights of children and families.
To act in the best interests of the child, accessible, affordable, quality, non-segregated and inclusive early childhood education and care (ECEC) needs to be provided. We recommend, “family centred” solutions (such as Leihomas or “borrow a grandmother” and child minders), as they allow parents to choose from a variety of options based on their needs.
Such solutions also help to redistribute unpaid family care work between men and women and between families and society. MMM puts forward the Finnish ECEC model as policy inspiration for states, as this system gives parents a choice between outsourced or in-family care without fear of economic or professional consequences.
MMM also calls upon the private sector to uphold their social responsibility to support parents. Companies should recognize the skills acquired by parents while providing informal care. Furthermore, policies that encourage and enable fathers to take parental leave, implementing work-life balance policies and flexible working options for parents and the recognistion of skills acquired by parents while doing care activities can help make companies more parent and child friendly.
These recommendations for the Barcelona targets would make the work place a more flexible and empowering place for parents. They would also help to make childcare more accessible to families from all backgrounds.
See MMM’s full response and joint answer of the Alliance for investing in Children
05.02.23
UN New York, CSocD61 - The virtual event we are organizing as part of the 2023 UN Commission on Social Development will draw attention to the specificity of the situation
14.04.23
Make Mothers Matter, together with the city of Ypres, and its grass roots partners Mothers for Peace, Mama Kivu and the Vrouwenraad, is organizing an international peace Conference Women at
04.10.22
At MMM, we believe that sharing the invisible work of caring and educating children more equitably is a quadruple win: essential for early child development (ECD), beneficial for both men
27.06.23
MMM welcomes the European Commission’s new proposal addressing mental health and bringing a much-needed focus on various aspects of mental well-being. The proposal’s emphasis on mental health promotion, pr
04.04.23
Our Care on the Move conference took place at the European Parliament recently, where speakers from diverse backgrounds, ranging from academics, to policy-makers and representatives from civil society organizat
31.03.23
Emotional intelligence is a vital skill that helps people build healthy and fulfilling relationships, maintain their mental health, make good decisions, and develop leadership skills. Unfortunately, emotional i
14.03.23
Make Mothers Matter submitted its contribution to the Call for Evidence of the EU Commission on Mental Health.
07.03.23
Family is the primary social structure through which the needs and rights of children and young people are met and realized. The right to family life as set out by the UNCRC, is a key right for all children and
24.02.23
On 28th February 2023, Make Mothers Matter together with partners, is organizing a conference at the European Parliament to tackle the issue of the gender care gap in relation to intra-EU mobility. Featuring Dr