Women Provide More Lifetime Elder Care Than Men, Study Shows

TL;DR

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A University of Michigan study estimates that U.S. women can expect to provide seven years of care to older relatives or friends over their lifetimes, compared with four years for men, using 2023 caregiving rates. The gap does not apply to care for a spouse or partner, where the estimated lifetime average is about 1.5 years for both women and men.

A University of Michigan study estimates that women in the United States will provide seven years of care to older relatives or friends over their lifetimes, compared with four years for men, based on 2023 rates. The research, published in The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, finds that the lifetime gap has persisted even as the number of men providing care has grown.

Researchers Vicki Freedman and Crystal Yee To Ng used nearly 8,500 responses to the National Study of Caregiving, combined with federal population data, to estimate the number of years adults aged 20 and older may spend caring for older people. Their method combines information across age groups to project lifetime years if current caregiving rates continue; it does not track each participant’s care over an entire lifetime.

The estimates show a change for women between the comparison years: their expected lifetime caregiving rose from six years in 2011 to seven years in 2023. Men’s estimate remained at four years. The study measures help with tasks such as personal care, household chores, transportation and medical needs.

The difference varied by relationship. Women were estimated to provide more than an additional year of care to a parent and several more months to a grandparent, as well as more than an extra year to extended family members and friends. For care provided to a spouse or partner, however, women and men had similar estimates: about 1.5 years over a lifetime.

How the Care Gap Is Distributed

The findings put caregiving into a lifetime frame, rather than counting only who is providing support at a particular moment. That perspective can show how unequal care responsibilities accumulate over time, including for people supporting parents, grandparents, other relatives and friends.

The estimates also matter as demand rises. The researchers report that the number of family caregivers assisting U.S. adults aged 65 and older grew from 18 million in 2011 to more than 24 million in recent years. A larger pool of people needing support may increase pressure on families, while the observed differences suggest that responsibility is not evenly shared between women and men.

The study does not measure the personal or economic consequences of those years of care. It does, however, provide a way to track the scale and distribution of caregiving using a common measure: expected years across adulthood.

What the Lifetime Estimates Measure

Many earlier studies have measured caregiving over short periods, such as a few months. Freedman and Ng instead applied a demographic method to caregiving data across age groups to estimate how many years an adult might provide care over a lifetime if observed rates continue.

That distinction matters when interpreting the results: the figures are population-level estimates, not a prediction that every woman will provide exactly seven years of care or every man exactly four. The research compares 2011 and 2023 patterns and is about care for older adults in the United States.

The article reports that the study was supported by the National Institute on Aging through grant R01AG062477. The paper, “Lifetime family caregiving for older U.S. adults by men and women, 2011 and 2023,” was published in The Journals of Gerontology: Series B in 2026.

“Despite attention to the growing number of men taking on caregiving responsibilities, the gap in lifetime family caregiving has not closed between men and women in recent years.”

— Vicki Freedman, research professor at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research

What Could Change the Estimates

The figures describe what adults might expect to provide if current rates hold; they are not a forecast incorporating future changes in family structure, public policy or care services. The researchers say those factors, along with the availability and affordability of paid care and social norms, could affect who provides support.

The study also does not establish why the difference exists or measure how caregiving affects people’s work, income, health or well-being. The source material gives overall lifetime estimates and relationship-specific comparisons, but does not provide detailed breakdowns for every caregiving task or explain how individual circumstances shape the totals.

Researchers point to a rising share of older adults without close family as a possible source of greater need for care beyond immediate kin. The extent to which friends, extended family, paid providers or community services will meet that need remains uncertain.

Tracking Care as Needs Grow

The study provides a baseline for comparing future estimates of lifetime caregiving with the 2011 and 2023 figures. Future research and updates to national caregiving data can show whether the gender gap widens, narrows or remains stable as the population ages and family networks change.

No specific follow-up date or additional study is identified in the source material. For now, the researchers’ projections remain conditional on current rates, and future patterns will depend in part on family changes, access to paid care and social expectations about who provides support.

Key Questions

How many years of elder care do women and men provide over a lifetime?

Using 2023 rates, the study estimates seven years for women and four years for men in the United States. These are population-level projections if current rates continue, not fixed totals for every individual.

Did the study find a difference in care for spouses or partners?

No large difference was reported for spousal or partner care. Women and men were each estimated to provide about 1.5 years of care to a spouse or partner over a lifetime.

How did the researchers calculate lifetime caregiving?

Researchers combined nearly 8,500 National Study of Caregiving responses with federal population data and used a demographic method to estimate lifetime years from caregiving patterns across age groups.

Why might the gender gap change in the future?

The researchers say future patterns may depend on family structure, the availability and affordability of paid care, and social norms around who provides support. The study does not predict which way the gap will move.

Source: rss