Catherwood LibraryILR School

The majority of America’s 44 million unpaid eldercare providers are women, many of whom are in their mid-40s when caregiving begins, an age where earnings potential declines and it becomes inadvisable to leave the workface in order to care for elderly family members. At the same time, women are living into their mid-80s, and these women may be unable to afford their own senior care due to not being able to save while caring for others. While affordable childcare and maternity leave in the U.S. remain hot topics due to comparisons with more generous leave and care policies in other developed countries, workplace support for working daughters is not as advanced as it is for working mothers. According to the 2015 C.A.R.E study, 59% of Americans feel that caring for two elderly adults is far more difficult than caring for children. By 2030, the United States will need between 5.7 and 6.6 million caregivers to support the elderly, many of whom will be unpaid family members who will need time off from work.