In the past few decades, women have made tremendous strides in the workplace. But many working women remain the default caregiver in their families — and, as new research from the Pew Research Center shows, that’s contributing to the persistent gender pay gap and holding some women back in their careers.
A Pew survey found that more than half of full-time working moms said being a parent made it harder for them to advance at work. Thirty-eight percent of full-time working dads said the same.
Men are contributing more at home than in decades past, but in families with small children, women spend more time on child care, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And while more than 63 million Americans provide care for elderly relatives, 61 percent of those caregivers are women, according to AARP.
Pew’s research found that women are doing more at home even when outearning their husbands.
With so many responsibilities, many women are forced to make a choice in the middle of their careers: chase the wins at work or keep things running at home.
In the Pew survey, 67 percent of working mothers said they couldn’t give their all at home, and 56 percent said they couldn’t give their all at work. By comparison, 50 percent of working fathers said they couldn’t give their all at home, with just 38 percent saying the same about work.
Juggling the demands of both worlds can be emotionally and physically draining for many women, said Tina Sadarangani, adult and geriatric nurse practitioner and assistant professor of nursing at New York University.
“This generation of women have the expectations put on them to get educated, go to the workplace, become the CEO — but they’ve remained the CEO of their household,” she said. “And without supports, it’s impossible to advance in the workplace because what you come home to is so much.”
Even when supports are in place, assumptions about women’s responsibilities at home can cost them high-visibility projects, promotions and other career opportunities, said Michelle Deitchman, chief people officer at A Place for Mom, a senior care service. Ingrained stereotypes and implicit bias about working women’s capacity can still affect management decisions.
“Needing flexibility doesn’t mean someone has less ambition or less to contribute,” she said.
Being passed over for such decisions can have far-reaching financial ripple effects, said Karen Smith, senior fellow at the Urban Institute. When women step away from work or reduce their hours to handle caregiving responsibilities, they’re not only losing out on hours; they’re also missing out on future earnings and retirement contributions.
A majority of those who provide care for aging relatives say they’d benefit from paid family leave or standardized caregiving relief, according to the Pew survey.
In the meantime, simply encouraging women to rely on their spouses for help or adopt new tools to boost productivity won’t drive meaningful change, Sadarangani said.
“I will say that even with advancements in artificial intelligence and everything else, I’m still hard-pressed to believe you can replace the adult daughter,” she said. “Find me a robot that can replace that role and I will invest in that company and quit my job.”
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