New Role,New Paycheck: The Impact on Women’s Wages When Becoming a Caregiver for an Aging Parent

Abstract

Objectives: While prior research demonstrates the negative impacts of adult caregiving on women’s employment, less research examines how women’s employment changes when beginning a new caregiving role. Methods: Using data from eight waves of the Health and Retirement Study (2004–2018), I examine changes in women’s employment when first transitioning into parental caregiving between the ages of 50–60, by analyzing changes in labor force participation, work hours, and hourly wages. Results: The transition into parental caregiving was not associated with women exiting the workforce or decreasing their work hours. However, caregivers did experience a decrease in inflation-adjusted hourly wages compared to non-caregivers, with the greatest wage penalties associated with high-intensity caregiving situations. Conclusion: Results demonstrate how parental caregiving may act as a shock to women’s financial health at a critical career stage. This study highlights the less visible, but detrimental, financial consequences women experience when taking on a family caregiving role.

Keywords

caregiving care transitions employment penalties women’s employment

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

AARP and National Alliance for Caregiving . (2020). Caregiving in the United States 2020 [Research report]. AARP. https://doi.org/10.26419/ppi.00103.001

Aughinbaugh

Woods

R. A.

(2021). Patterns of caregiving and work: Evidence from two surveys (Monthly labor review). U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://doi.org/10.21916/mlr/2021-6

Boaz

R. F.

Muller

C. F.

(1992). Paid work and unpaid help by caregivers of the disabled and frail elders. Medical Care, 30(2), 149–158. https://doi.org/10.1097/00005650-199202000-00006

Brady

(2022). Neoliberal capitalism, older adult care and feminist theory. The CLR James Journal, 28(1), 85–108. https://doi.org/10.5840/clrjames202312797

Bugliari

Carroll

Hayden

Hayes

Hurd

Karabatakis

Main

McCullough

Meijer

Moldoff

Pantoja

Rohwedder

St Clair

(2022). RAND HRS longitudinal file 2019(V2) documentation. RAND Corporation. file:///Users/sambrady/Downloads/randhrs1992_2018v2(3).pdf

Butrica

Karamcheva

(2014). The impact of informal caregiving on older adults’ labor supply and economic resources. The Urban Institute. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286448788_The_Impact_of_Informal_Caregiving_on_Older_Adults%27_Labor_Supply_and_Economic_Resources

Campbell

Walker

(2021). Informal caregiving and the risk of material hardship in the United States. Health & Social Care in the Community. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.13597

Carlson

D. S.

Kacmar

K. M.

(2000). Work–family conflict in the organization: Do life role values make a difference? Journal of Management, 26(5), 1031–1054. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920630002600502

Chou

Y.-C.

Lee

Y.-C.

Lin

L.-C.

Kröger

Chang

A.-N.

(2009). Older and younger family caregivers of adults with intellectual disability: Factors associated with future plans. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 47(4), 282–294. https://doi.org/10.1352/1934-9556-47.4.282

10.

Creary

S. J.

Gordon

J. R.

(2016). Role conflict, role Overload, and role strain. In The wiley blackwell encyclopedia of family studies. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781119085621.wbefs012

11.

Elgar

Abramowska-Kmon

(2018) (In this issue). Ronald J. Burke and Lisa M. Calvano (eds): The Sandwich Generation. Caring for Oneself and Others at Home and at Work. European Journal of Population, 34, 143–145. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10680-017-9449-x

12.

Ettner

S. L.

(1995). The impact of “parent care” on female labor supply decisions. Demography, 32(1), 63–80. https://doi.org/10.2307/2061897

13.

Feinberg

L. F.

(2016). The dual pressures of family caregiving and employment (Spotlight 19). AARP Public Policy Institute.

14.

Ficker

L. J.

(2010). The role of employment status, work disruption, leisure, and resources in the mental health of dementia caregiving daughters [Dissertation. Wayne State University. https://www.proquest.com/docview/838979419/abstract/4FCB92F225344471PQ/1

15.

Flinn

(2018). Millennials: The emerging generation of family caregivers (Spotlight 33). AARP Public Policy Institute.

16.

Gaugler

J. E.

Teaster

(2006). The family caregiving career: Implications for community-based long-term care practice and policy. Journal of Aging & Social Policy, 18(3–4), 141–154. https://doi.org/10.1300/J031v18n03_10

17.

Gennep

A. v

. (2019). The rites of passage ( Vizedom

M. B.

Caffee

G. L.

, Trans.; Second). The University of Chicago Press.

18.

Gibbons

S. W.

Ross

Bevans

(2014). Liminality as a conceptual frame for understanding the family caregiving rite of passage: An integrative review. Research in Nursing & Health, 37(5), 423–436. https://doi.org/10.1002/nur.21622

19.

Gignac

M. A. M.

Kevin Kelloway

Gottlieb

B. H.

(2010). The impact of caregiving on employment: A mediational model of work-family conflict. Canadian Journal on Aging, 15(4), 525–542. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0714980800009405

20.

Glass

J. C.

Kilpatrick

B. B.

(1998). Financial planning for retirement: An imperative for baby boomer women. Educational Gerontology, 24(6), 595–617. https://doi.org/10.1080/0360127980240606

21.

Glauber

(2019). The wage penalty for parental caregiving: Has it declined over time? Journal of Marriage and Family, 81(2), 415–433. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12555

22.

Gordon

J. R.

Pruchno

R. A.

Wilson-Genderson

Murphy

W. M.

Rose

(2012). Balancing caregiving and work: Role conflict and role strain dynamics. Journal of Family Issues, 33(5), 662–689. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X11425322

23.

Grünwald

Damman

Henkens

(2021). The differential impact of retirement on informal caregiving, volunteering, and grandparenting: Results of a 3-year panel study. Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 76(3), 607–619. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbaa221

24.

Hammersmith

A. M.

Lin

I.-F.

(2019). Evaluative and experienced well-being of caregivers of parents and caregivers of children. Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 74(2), 339–352. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbw065

25.

Henle

C. A.

Fisher

G. G.

McCarthy

Prince

M. A.

Mattingly

V. P.

Clancy

R. L.

(2020). Eldercare and childcare: How does caregiving responsibility affect job discrimination? Journal of Business and Psychology, 35(1), 59–83. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-019-09618-x

26.

Hequembourg

Brallier

(2005). Gendered stories of parental caregiving among siblings. Journal of Aging Studies, 19(1), 53–71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2003.12.001

27.

Johnson

R. W.

Lo Sasso

A. T.

(2006). The impact of elder care on women’s labor supply. Inquiry: A Journal of Medical Care Organization, Provision and Financing, 43(3), 195–210. https://doi.org/10.5034/inquiryjrnl_43.3.195

28.

Juster

F. T.

Suzman

(1995). An overview of the health and retirement study. Journal of Human Resources, 30(Suppl.), S7–S56. https://doi.org/10.2307/146277

29.

Kayaalp

Page

K. J.

Rospenda

K. M.

(2021). Caregiver burden, work-family conflict, family-work conflict, and mental health of caregivers: A mediational longitudinal study. Work & Stress, 35(3), 217–240. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2020.1832609

30.

Lee

Tang

(2015). More caregiving, less working: Caregiving roles and gender difference. Journal of Applied Gerontology: The Official Journal of the Southern Gerontological Society, 34(4), 465–483. https://doi.org/10.1177/0733464813508649

31.

Lilly

M. B.

Laporte

Coyte

P. C.

(2007). Labor market work and home care’s unpaid caregivers: A systematic review of labor force participation rates, predictors of labor market withdrawal, and hours of work. The Milbank Quarterly, 85(4), 641–690. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0009.2007.00504.x

32.

Marks

N. F.

(1998). Does it hurt to care? Caregiving, work-family conflict, and midlife well-being. Journal of Marriage and Family, 60(4), 951–966. https://doi.org/10.2307/353637

33.

McLanahan

Monson

(1990). Caring for the elderly: Prevalence and consequences (NSFH working paper no. 18). Center for Demography and Ecology, University of Wisconsin.

34.

Moen

(2002). Midcourse: Navigating retirement and a new life stage. In Mortimer

J. T.

Shanahan

M. J.

(Eds.), Handbook of the life course (pp. 269–291). Kluwer Academic Publishers.

35.

Moen

Robison

Fields

(1994). Women’s work and caregiving roles: A life course approach. Journal of Gerontology, 49(4), S176–S186. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronj/49.4.s176

36.

Moral-Fernández

Frías-Osuna

Moreno-Cámara

Palomino-Moral

P. A.

Del-Pino-Casado

(2018). The start of caring for an elderly dependent family member: A qualitative metasynthesis. BMC Geriatrics, 18(1), 228. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-018-0922-0

37.

Munnell

A. H.

(2011). What is the average retirement age? (11–11). Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. https://crr.bc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/IB_11-11-508.pdf

38.

Mutschler

P. H.

(1993). Bearing the costs of our eldercare policies: Work constraints among employed caregivers. Journal of Aging & Social Policy, 5(4), 23–49. https://doi.org/10.1300/j031v05n04_03

39.

National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP . (2020). Caregiving in the U.S. 2020: A focused look at family caregivers of adults age 50+. AARP. https://doi.org/10.26419/ppi.00103.022

40.

Neal

M. B.

Wagner

(2002). Working caregivers: Issues, challenges, and opportunities for the aging network (program development issue brief) [Working paper]. Portland State University. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1008&context=aging_pub

41.

Nguyen

H. T.

Connelly

L. B.

(2014). The effect of unpaid caregiving intensity on labour force participation: Results from a multinomial endogenous treatment model. Social Science & Medicine, 100, 115–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.10.031

42.

Pavalko

E. K.

Artis

J. E.

(1997). Women’s caregiving and paid work: Causal relationships in late midlife. Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 52(4), S170–S179. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/52B.4.S170

43.

Pavalko

E. K.

Henderson

K. A.

(2006). Combining care work and paid work: Do workplace policies make a difference? Research on Aging, 28(3), 359–374. https://doi.org/10.1177/0164027505285848

44.

Pearlin

L.I.

Aneshensel

C.S.

(1994). Caregiving: The unexpected career. Social Justice Research, 7, 373–390. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02334863

45.

Polivka

L. J.

(2017). Women and the crisis of care in the United States. Generations: Journal of the American Society on Aging, 41(4), 29–35.

46.

Prattley

Chandola

(2021). The influence of household pension wealth, partner’s health and spousal employment status on heterogeneous early retirement transitions among women in England. Work, Employment & Society, 35(1), 57–77. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017020906358

47.

RAND Corporation . (2020). RAND HRS longitudinal file 2016 (V2) documentation. https://www.rand.org/well-being/social-and-behavioral-policy/centers/aging/dataprod/hrs-data.html

48.

Read

J. G.

Cohen

P. N.

(2007). One size fits all? Explaining U.S.-born and immigrant women’s employment across 12 ethnic groups. Social Forces, 85(4), 1713–1734. https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.2007.0077

49.

Robinson

K. M.

(1997). Family caregiving: Who provides the care, and at what cost? Nursing Economics, 15(5), 243–247.

50.

Ruel

Hauser

R. M.

(2012). Explaining the gender wealth gap. Demography, 50(4), 1155–1176. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-012-0182-0

51.

Schulz

(2020). The intersection of family caregiving and work: Labor force participation, productivity, and caregiver well-being. In Czaja

S. J.

Sharit

James

J. B.

(Eds.), Current and emerging trends in aging and work (pp. 399–413). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24135-3_20

52.

Social Security Administration . (2022). When to start receiving retirement benefits (05–10147). In Social security administration. https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10147.pdf

53.

Society for Human Resource Management . (2022). 2020 employee benefits. Society for Human Resource Management. https://shrm-res.cloudinary.com/image/upload/v1630503564/2020_Employee_Benefits/Benefits_Full_Report_FINAL_1.pdf

54.

Sonnega

Faul

J. D.

Ofstedal

M. B.

Langa

K. M.

Phillips

J. W.

Weir

D. R.

(2014). Cohort profile: The health and retirement study (HRS). International Journal of Epidemiology, 43(2), 576–585. https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyu067

55.

Van Houtven

C. H.

Coe

N. B.

Skira

M. M.

(2013). The effect of informal care on work and wages. Journal of Health Economics, 32(1), 240–252. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhealeco.2012.10.006

56.

Wakabayashi

Donato

K. M.

(2005). The consequences of caregiving: Effects on women’s employment and earnings. Population Research and Policy Review, 24(5), 467–488. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-005-3805-y

57.

Wakabayashi

Donato

K. M.

(2006). Does caregiving increase poverty among women in later life? Evidence from the health and retirement survey. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 47(3), 258–274. https://doi.org/10.1177/002214650604700305

58.

Wolf

D. A.

Soldo

B. J.

(1994). Married women’s allocation of time to employment and care of elderly parents. The Journal of Human Resources, 29(4), 1259–1276. https://doi.org/10.2307/146140

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.00 MB

0.20 MB