Mothers and the Economy
With their work and personal investment in their families and their children, all mothers, whether they are in paid employment or not, make a vital contribution to the economy of their country.
MMM advocates to give value to this unpaid family care work, working primarily for a better balance of family life and professional life. “Care” work must be given much more credit and should not be an obstacle to gender equality and the economic independence of mothers.
Unpaid family care work: vital but invisible and unrecognized
Its financial value is estimated between 10 and 40% of GDP and 2/3 of this work is assumed by women, specifically mothers. It is the first obstacle to their economic empowerment.
MMM in action
Awareness raising and advocacy on the issue of unpaid family care work: recognise, reduce & redistribute
Care: The Invisible Force Shaping Society
11.02.26
UN New York – At the 64th session of the UN Commission for Social Development, Farah Arabe, MMM Board member and UN representative in New York, urged Member States to
Motherhood a powerful form of informal learning – Not a gap in the CV
10.02.26
UN New York – On 5 February, we hosted a virtual side-event during the 64th session of the UN Commission for Social Development titled Unlocking the Power of Care: Skills,
Discrimination in the economic sphere: the “motherhood penalty”
Beyond the first structural obstacle of unpaid family work, women around the world suffer from barriers, sometimes legal, often purely discriminatory - especially when they are mothers
Reconciliation between family and professional life
MMM defends women’s (and men’s!) free choice to be able to devote time to their family responsibilities - without being heavily penalised.
Reconciliation of Family Life and Work
Advocacy for policies of reconciliation between family life and professional life for all - a key area of work at the European level, mais an issue for every mother around the world.
Maternal Psychological Wellbeing: A Challenge and a Unique Opportunity
13.01.26
Wednesday 28 January 2026 | 15:15 – 17:30 GMT London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) – Live broadcast #MaternalWellbeingLSE Maternal mental health is one of the most pressing
She Does It All: The Devaluation of Caregiving in EU Work–Life Balance Policy
28.11.25
Across Europe, mothers carry out vast amounts of unpaid care work that keeps families and societies functioning—yet much of this labour remains largely invisible in EU policy. A new study
