WHAT IS INVISIBLE CAREGIVING?
Sixty-one percent of the caregivers in the study were women.2 Because women have a longer life expectancy than men, husbands are likely to be cared for by their wives, whereas older widows are likely to be cared for by adult daughters. And because many still view family caregiving as women’s work, aging parents are more likely to receive caregiving assistance from adult daughters.5 But this fact should not crystallize into stereotype; family roles are more flexible than they once were, and the role of men in caregiving of the elderly has been changing,6 as has their role in child care.
