Serving as an unpaid caregiver to a loved one may be “a labor of love” – but it’s also hard work, as anyone who has done it can attest. This is especially true for a growing number of U.S. women in the workforce. Their dual role as a caregiver and an employee is the equivalent of working two full-time jobs, according to this recent article from The Hill. 

Reporter Kirstie McDermott took a look at current data that highlights the growing – and disproportionate – burden of caregiving on women, especially at a time when a record number of U.S. women are working in paid jobs. We’ll examine McDermott’s article from The Hill to see what it tells us about the importance of planning ahead for the likelihood that someone in your family may one day need regular care, and that you might be called upon to provide it.

Women in the Workforce at an “All-Time High”

McDermott begins with this startling statistic: “There are almost two million more women aged 24 to 54 in the U.S. labor force than there were five years ago, hitting an all-time high in May of this year.”

This is largely due to impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, she adds. “As working styles became less rigid thanks to the introduction of at-home, remote and hybrid options, this unlocked new possibilities for women.”

Women Face Greater Risk of Unemployment

Unfortunately, the vulnerability of women in the workforce has also risen. According to the  World Economic Forum (WEF), “Historically, women have consistently faced higher unemployment rates than men, except for a short period in 2020 […] Since then, the likelihood of women experiencing unemployment is again higher than for men.”

McDermott adds, “In addition to women being more vulnerable to being out of work, the global female jobs gap rate of 15 percent is significantly above the men’s jobs gap rate of 10.5 percent.”

Caregiving Women Can’t Start Work on Short Notice

Job opportunities are also more difficult for women to find and keep, according to the WEF, since women are significantly less likely to be available to start work on short notice.

The WEF explains, “Evidence suggests that these gaps persist due to both a lack of suitable job opportunities and lack of access to existing opportunities, in turn due to disproportionate care responsibilities and discouragement to search for opportunities, among other factors.” (Italics added.)

Moreover, when opportunity does knock, the WEF notes that women more often end up in jobs that substandard working conditions, as a result.

For Women, Caring Responsibilities are a Major Issue

The root cause of much of this disparity? It’s often the added weight of caregiving, and the role that so many women play in their homes and in their jobs. 

One major factor is our aging population. McDermott writes, “In 2022, there were 58 million people aged 65 and older [according to the Population Reference Bureau], and this is projected to increase by 47 percent to 2050.” The U.S. population has never been older than it is today.

The biggest burden of care falls on women’s shoulders, especially elder care, according to a Wells Fargo report. It found that women accounted for 59 percent of unpaid caregiving in 2021-2022. This is especially true of older women, those 55 and up, who make up 30 percent of all unpaid caregivers.

“Women shoulder a disproportionate share of these care responsibilities, and with them a disproportionate share of the costs,” the report says, adding, “Yet women are not only leaned on more heavily for unpaid care, but they play an outsized role in providing paid care as well.”

For Women, Caregiving Isn’t Only About Elder Care

But caregiving isn’t just an elder care issue; women are significantly more involved in child care, as well. McDermott writes, “A report found that 46 percent of mothers left the workforce in 2021 due to child care issues, for example, with other data indicating that men spend only 76 percent of the time caregiving that women do.”

Layer this reality on top of the fact that there are now more women than ever in the U.S. labor force, and it’s undeniable: many women have to be essentially working two jobs, one almost certainly unpaid.

“Resumé Gaps” Put Caregiving Women at a Disadvantage

The disadvantages pile up against such women. Between the minefield of the cultural question of “children versus career” and the gender pay gap, they also have to contend with “resumé gaps”, which often leave them overlooked in the job application process.  

“In that context, it is not surprising to learn that an increasing share of Americans are opting out of having children at all,” McDermott writes. “Recent Pew Research Centre data identified that the U.S. fertility rate reached a historic low last year. A growing number of women aged 25 to 44 have never given birth, and Pew’s research, which covers men and women, found that those who say they are unlikely to ever have kids has increased by 10 percentage points between 2018 and 2023.”

Freeing Women from “The Two-Job Trap” Brings Social Benefits

McDermott calls for “more to be done” in freeing working women from what she calls the “two job trap,” and she says that there are clear economic benefits that can come from this.

“The Gates Foundation has identified that providing childcare to women has the potential to add $3 trillion to the global economy each year,” she writes.

The Gates analysis also points out that expanding child care infrastructure will “create jobs, many of them for women, helping narrow the gender gap when it comes to economic opportunity. Expanding the child care workforce to meet current needs could create 43 million jobs globally.” 

McDermott concludes, simply, “Ultimately, while working women are set to benefit, this is a win-win for everyone.”

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(originally reported at www.thehill.com)