Unpaid labor and the midlife female experience

In the United States, women provide most of the unpaid senior care at a significantly higher cost to their own physical health, mental well-being and long-term financial security than men, according to the report Women and Caregiving: The Hidden Health, Work and Financial Effects of Unpaid Care in Midlife. The results of the report were published today by A Place for Mom, a referral service for families who have senior members in need of care.

The survey gathered data from 1,029 unpaid caregivers nationwide, from ages 40 to 75, who are providing unpaid care for people 55 and older. In this study, the average age was 52. People of this age are often said to be part of the “sandwich generation” because of the likelihood they are caring for their own families and their aging parents, resulting in double dose of stress.

“The burden of most caregiving falls on people who are raising their children, trying to work, and either gradually or suddenly, their parents go from being supportive grandparents to needing help of their own,” Carol Bradley Bursack, a caregiving expert and Certified Dementia Support Group Facilitator, said in the study. “The lack of systemic supports makes women feel like failures. They feel like they’re failing because they’re doing something that’s almost impossible to do without help.”
Read the slideshow to find out the report highlights.