Women, in the all-too-frequent role of caregiver, face a host of challenges throughout their careers. The women’s liberation movement opened the door to a huge growth of mothers in the workforce over the last few decades. But it’s care for ageing parents that is going to be the next big thing for career women – driven by the slow tsunami of an ageing population.
The availability of formal child care and after school care have enabled mothers to overcome barriers to pursuing a career. But just when the years of raising children are almost over, and the upper rungs of the corporate ladder are within sight, an often unexpected caring responsibility arrives: caring for ageing parents.
Elder care is an issue we all will face. Not everyone choses to have children, but everyone has parents. The number of elderly people needing care is not small. Those aged over 85 years (420,300 in 2012) are going to double in the next 20 years. Researchers at the University of Rhode Island found that workers with elder care responsibilities felt less supervisory support for their needs compared to workers with child care responsibilities. Also that workers caring for ageing parents reported higher levels of stress, overwork and work-life conflict than workers caring for children. The ABS says that 1 in 3 workers are caring for ageing parents, and that figure is growing, with 45% of workers anticipating taking on elder care responsibilities in the next five years. They also report that of the 5.5 million people of working age who have unpaid caring responsibilities 72.5% of them are women.
Overwhelmingly, it is women who bear the cost of caring for their parents as they age. The average person caring for a parent today is a woman in midlife, and less than half of them will continue working. For those who do remain working, many will reduce their hours, pass up promotions, turn down opportunities and bypass continuing their education. All of which reduce their current and future earnings and retirement benefits. Stress and worry are also known take a significant toll on the health of family carers. Rosanna Fay, the co-founder of a successful technology firm, is a case in point. Rosanna says caring for her parents during the last years of their lives left her “totally burned out”.
“Like many in my generation, I never fully considered the potential need to take care of my ageing parents.”
Returning to the office after ‘yet another’ period of leave to attend to her ageing parents, Rosanna found her business partner had delegated her most interesting work to other up-and-coming women in the company, all under the age of 30 and without attachments. “I felt irrelevant,” said Rosanna. “The slow creep of my parents ageing took an immeasurable toll. I had no energy. It was clear, I needed to move on.”
Admirably, most of these carers take it on willingly. But most do not consider the cost to their careers. “I’ve missed out on a lot of jobs because I see it as my responsibility to care for my mum. I want to spend time with her while I can,” says 48 year old former bank manager Joy Kane. “She needs me, and I want to be there for her. But I didn’t expect it to impact my personal relationships like it has. And because I now work part time in a role with less responsibilities, I haven’t earned as much as I would have liked. I worry about that.”
There’s lots of support and information for women about balancing child care and a career – but nothing about balancing caring for an ageing parent, says elder care expert Jane Floyd, who also has ageing parents requiring support.
“Many women think they should care for an ageing parent themselves, but it is very demanding. Guilt plays a big role.” “We don’t think twice about using child care these days. So why are we reluctant to consider elder care?
“Most think that nursing home is the only solution but there’s another option: home care. “Home care aides enable older people to live safely and comfortably in their own home, despite frailty or disability. “Many of my clients are successful career women. Home care offers them peace of mind and reassurance their parents are in good hands.”
