The High Cost of Caregiving for Women

65% of people who need caregivers rely on family, friends and neighbors for assistance. The National Caregiving Council estimates that 75% of caregivers are women. The average caregiver is female, 46 years old, married with children and works outside the home.

The odds are good that you are or you know one of these women. You might not know that caregiving is a health hazard and career hazard for women.

Metropolitan Life has studied caregiving and its economic consequences. They described the career consequences of women who are caregivers as follows:
33% decreased their work hours
29% passed up a promotion or training
22% took a leave of absence
20% went from full time to part time
20% quit their jobs
13 % retired early

You can see the career consequences and easily calculate the economic impact on a caregiver’s family. But there are also health implications for the caregiving woman. Another study by Met Life, comparing caregivers to non-caregivers, showed that caregivers have a 28% higher incidence of hypertension, heart disease, and poorer immune function. We also know that caregivers very often put off their own medical check up’s, tests and health screenings because they are focused on the health and medical needs of the loved ones they care for.

There is so much more than just the time and stress and worry.