Caregiving gap grows as women devote more years to aging adults

As of 2023, that amounts to three years more than men, whose lifetime caregiving held steady at four years, according to a new study published in the Journals of Gerontology Series B. 

Caregivers help older adults with various tasks, including personal care, household chores, transportation and medical tasks.

"Millions of adults help an older relative or friend manage their daily activities and the numbers of men and women in this role are growing rapidly in the U.S.," said Vicki Freedman, research professor in the Survey Research Center at U-M's Institute for Social Research. "Despite attention to the growing number of men taking on caregiving responsibilities, the gap in lifetime family caregiving has not closed between men and women in recent years."  

Freedman and U-M colleague Crystal Yee To Ng found that this caregiving disparity does not apply to spousal care. Men and women can expect to spend an equal number of years over their lifetimes caring for a husband, wife or partner—averaging about 1.5 years.

However, the gap between women and men extends to other common relationships. Women can expect to provide more than one additional year of care for a parent and several more months for a grandparent. The researchers also found women could expect to spend more than an extra year caring for extended family and friends.  

"These findings are not limited to one type of assistance," Freedman said. "Rather, for each type of care we examined—from bathing or dressing to providing rides—we found women could expect to spend more years over their lifetimes than men caring for an older adult."  

The U-M researchers analyzed nearly 8,500 responses to the National Study of Caregiving along with federal population data to calculate lifetime care estimates for U.S. adults ages 20 and older.

While most previous studies measure caregiving in quick snapshots over a few months, this research summarizes the information across age groups to estimate lifetime caregiving.

"This study uses a demographic technique to calculate how many years of caregiving to an older adult a man or woman can expect to provide over their lifetimes if current rates hold into the future," Freedman said.

Rising demand

The number of family caregivers assisting U.S. adults ages 65 and older expanded over the past decade, jumping from 18 million in 2011 to more than 24 million in recent years.

At the same time, the researchers point to a growing number of Americans living without close family. As the percentage of older adults with no close kin rises, so will the need for care outside immediate family networks.

"Given growing numbers of older adults without close kin and increasing care needs among those reaching later life, we may see these gaps between men and women continue to grow in the future," Freedman said. "But future caregiving patterns will depend on many factors, including changes to families, the availability and affordability of paid care, and social norms that may influence who provides support."

The National Institute on Aging supported the research (grant No. R01AG062477).  

Study: Lifetime Family Caregiving to Older U.S. Adults by Men and Women, 2011 and 2023 (DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbag209)