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4E. CARE WORK AND TIME MANAGEMENT
40 EIGE (2020), Gender Equality Index , available at: https://eige.europa.eu/gender-equalityindex/2015/domain/ time
41 EUROCITIES, written by BERRETA D. (2021), 'Barcelona finds the key to happiness: time', available at: https:// eurocities.eu/stories/barcelona-finds-the-key-to-happiness-time/
Men and women spend their time differently, and have disproportionate amounts of free and leisure time. Women on the whole contribute significantly more time to house and care work (including care of dependent family members such as children, the elderly and people with disabilities) and have much less leisure time as a result. This effect is most pronounced in families with young children40. For this reason, the UN SDG target 5.4 calls for the recognition and valuing of unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate. Time, or rather lack of time, significantly impacts residents wellbeing and quality of life, and can also affect individuals working life. Barcelona, for example, has recognised the importance of guaranteeing every resident the right to reconcile work and personal life, adopting innovative time-use policies which challenge job-centred schedules and promote better work and life balance.
Our main mission is to promote a better organisation of time in order to foster a healthier, more efficient and more equal society. Sonia Ruiz, Gender and Time Policies director at the Barcelona City Council41
In the labour market, profound structural changes are needed if women are to be encouraged in work. This requires the transformation of work organisation and working time flexibility. Well-designed family leave can send a signal that both men and women can take career breaks when they have a child and that doing so does not signal a lack of ambition or commitment. Cities can act in support of this change in a number of ways. As an employer they can lead by example with family-related leave and flexible working arrangements, avoiding a long hours culture and introducing career advancement and mentoring for women. They can send the message that work-life balance is not just a women s issue, and that men are equally involved, as in the seven city pilot described below. Crucially, cities can ensure good quality, accessible and affordable services across care, mobility and housing to enable men and women with care responsibilities to balance them with employment.
Family Shares Project [Budapest, Hungary]
Budapest is one of a network of seven cities across four countries in Europe in the Horizon 2020 Families Share project, which offers bottom-up solutions to work-life balance by supporting families with parenting and care-taking resources. Capitalising on members existing digital innovations, the team designed a social networking and awareness-raising platform that fosters gender equality through care-sharing networks. Parenting communities in partner cities, who co-designed the platform, self-organise, and share time and resources for childcare. During school holiday periods, parents meet up and set rotas for free play weeks and summer camps. As care tasks are typically fall on women s shoulders, the project aims to actively engage fathers and raise awareness of this imbalance. By integrating care back into the community, the burden of care provision solely on mothers is reduced and sharing care responsibilities is normalised. Local authorities are contributing with space, giving families free access to schools and public spaces for the Families Share activities. The seven participating cities are Venice (Italy), Hamburg (Germany), Bologna (Italy), Trento (Italy), Budapest (Hungary), Kortrijk (Belgium) and Thessaloniki (Greece).
Case Study
