How income shapes gender care gaps and work–life balance in the EU

The EU care strategy (2022) and the EU gender equality strategy 2026–2030 both highlight the need to reduce gender inequalities in care responsibilities, particularly the unequal sharing of unpaid childcare within households. Yet, informal care is not experienced equally across society. Who provides care and how it affects employment and daily life vary significantly depending on socioeconomic circumstances, including income.

This data talk uses EU-level data from EIGE’s second wave of the CARE Survey (2024) to examine how income shapes childcare responsibilities, the use of care services and the impact of care on careers. Findings are presented by sex and three income groups: low (1st–3rd decile), medium (4th–7th decile) and high (8th–10th decile). The analysis shows that gender gaps are not uniform: they are the widest among lower-income groups and change in character as income rise.

Parenthood becomes more common – and more gender equal – as income rises

Higher income is associated with a higher likelihood of having childcare responsibilities for children under the age of 12, and this relationship differs for women and men. The indicator presented below captures whether respondents report childcare responsibilities for their own children and can therefore be used as an indirect proxy for having children in this age group.

Two patterns stand out. First, the likelihood of having childcare responsibilities increases with income, rising from 21 % among lower-income respondents to 29 % among those in the highest income group (Figure 1). Second, the gender gap narrows considerably as income rises. Among lower-income respondents, women are 7 percentage points (pp) more likely than men to report childcare responsibilities, compared with a gap of only 3 pp among higher-income respondents.

The first pattern may reflect differences in the likelihood of becoming a parent. Financial stability can influence decisions about family formation, and individuals with lower incomes may face greater uncertainty about meeting the costs associated with raising children, which can lead to lower rates of parenthood.

The second pattern points more strongly to the role of gender norms. Income may play a stronger role in a man’s decision about becoming a parent, partly because breadwinner expectations remain deeply embedded. Men with lower incomes may be less likely to enter parenthood if they perceive themselves as unable to fulfil the role of primary financial provider. As income rises and financial constraints ease, men’s likelihood of becoming fathers appears to increase more rapidly than women’s.

Income shapes care intensity, but women remain the primary caregivers

Gender care gaps are especially pronounced when looking at the number of hours parents devote to childcare each week. Women are less concentrated in the lowest-intensity bands and more likely than men to provide intensive childcare, defined here as 35 hours or more per week. This underlines the extent to which women continue to carry the main load of care responsibilities.

When intensive childcare is examined across income groups, a more nuanced picture emerges. At every income level, women are substantially more likely than men to provide intensive childcare. Intensive caregiving is particularly common among lower-income women and becomes less prevalent as income rises. This may reflect more limited access to childcare services, less flexible working arrangements and fewer resources to outsource care among lower-income women.

For men, the pattern is less straightforward. Intensive caregiving is more common among both lower-income and higher-income men. Among those with lower incomes, this may be linked to weaker labour market attachment or periods out of employment. Among higher-income men, it may reflect changing caregiving norms, combined with greater access to parental leave and flexible working arrangements.

Overall, the findings suggest that while women continue to shoulder the largest share of intensive childcare across the income distribution, higher income may facilitate a more equal sharing of care responsibilities. Among lower-income families, by contrast, intensive caregiving remains more strongly concentrated among women.

Work–life balance: universal challenges, different in nature

Parents across all income groups experience challenges in balancing paid work and childcare, although both the extent and the nature of those challenges vary. Lower-income parents are more likely to report difficulties combining work and care, yet the gender gap is remarkably stable across the income distribution.

At every income level, around 6 to 7 pp more mothers than fathers report difficulties balancing paid work and childcare. This consistent pattern suggests that the gendered dimension of care is a structural feature of parenthood rather than one determined primarily by financial resources.

While gender differences remain relatively stable, income strongly shapes the constraints parents face. Lower-income parents are more likely to encounter structural barriers, such as irregular or unpredictable working hours, limited schedule flexibility and unmet needs for formal childcare services. More than half of lower-income parents report being unable to access the formal out-of-school-hours care services they need for their children aged 6–11, compared with 40 % of the parents in the highest-income group (Figure 2). Higher-income parents, by contrast, are more likely to face challenges related to time pressure and long working hours. More than one in five high-income parents work more than 40 hours per week, compared to 14 % middle-income parents and 8 % of low-income parents. In other words, lower-income parents are more likely to face barriers related to limited resources and access to support, while higher-income parents are more likely to struggle with the demands of long working hours.

These differences in working conditions and access to support services are also reflected in the career consequences associated with childcare responsibilities. The figure below illustrates how income shapes not only whether care affects employment, but also how parents respond to these pressures.

The contrast is particularly pronounced. Among lower-income parents, childcare responsibilities are more likely to result in withdrawal from the labour market, including stopping work, working only occasionally or experiencing extended periods out of employment. Among higher-income parents, responses are more often adaptive: changing working schedules, requesting flexible working arrangements or hiring external care support. Higher-income parents are also nearly twice as likely as lower-income parents to report no career consequences stemming from childcare responsibilities (20 % compared to 11 %).

Overall, the findings suggest that income shapes not only how parents experience work–life balance challenges, but also the options available to respond to them. While higher-income parents are more likely to adjust their working arrangements or draw on external support to reconcile work and care, lower-income parents are more often pushed out of employment altogether. This indicates that policies focused primarily on workplace flexibility, while important, may not adequately address the constraints faced by parents in lower-paid and less secure jobs.

[1]     The relationship between income and care is likely bidirectional. Care-related interruptions to employment can reduce income, while lower income can limit access to childcare services, flexible working arrangements and other forms of support. Because the data measure current income, they cannot fully disentangle these causal pathways.