Care Work

Care Workers Join Older Adult and Disability Advocates to Call for Vital Reforms

Last week, disability rights advocates were joined by caregiving professionals and policymakers at a rally in Washington, DC, to call for much-needed investment in the care infrastructure. Rally participants delivered the call to invest in care—with a focus on home and community-based services and living wages for direct care workers—at an important moment, as Congress continues to debate legislature that would provide critical funding like the Build Back Better Act and its reincarnations.

By Eve Mefferd|2022-05-11T12:43:28-05:00April 8, 2022|In the Lead|0 Comments

Who gives care during the Covid-19 pandemic?

People around the world are feeling the pressures of caring for children and other loved ones without paid care services and the support of extended family and social networks. Due to decades of disinvestment and discriminatory policies, many families’ care and support needs were unmet before the pandemic. The loss of normal care structures has pushed many already-marginalized families to the brink.

By IWPR|2020-08-16T17:26:32-05:00August 16, 2020|Comments Off on Who gives care during the Covid-19 pandemic?

Providing Unpaid Household and Care Work in the United States: Uncovering Inequality

In the United States, women spend considerably more time than men over their lifetime doing unpaid household and care work. The unequal distribution of this work—work that is essential for families and societies to thrive—not only limits women’s career choices and economic empowerment, but also affects their overall health and well-being.

By Jeff Hayes, Cynthia Hess, Ph.D. and Tanima Ahmed|2021-10-28T13:30:26-05:00January 20, 2020|Economic, Security, Mobility, and Equity|Comments Off on Providing Unpaid Household and Care Work in the United States: Uncovering Inequality

The Future of Care Work: Improving the Quality of America’s Fastest-Growing Jobs

Paid adult care work jobs are expected to increase substantially in the coming years, due to both an aging population and a comparatively low risk of automation for many of these jobs.

By Cynthia Hess, Ph.D. and Ariane Hegewisch|2020-08-10T01:44:47-05:00September 23, 2019|Economic, Security, Mobility, and Equity, Report|Comments Off on The Future of Care Work: Improving the Quality of America’s Fastest-Growing Jobs

The Shifting Supply and Demand of Care Work: The Growing Role of People of Color and Immigrants

As the Baby Boom generation matures and current unmet child care needs remain constant, the United States faces a burgeoning crisis in the demand for care workers. The market has slowly but surely begun to adapt, seeing an overall growth of 19 percent in the number of care workers between 2005 and 2015, with most of that growth in adult care. The U.S. Department of Labor suggests that this will only grow further, projecting that the economy will add more than 1.6 million jobs in occupations related to adult care by 2024 (Rolen 2017).

By Heidi Hartmann, Jeff Hayes, Rebecca Huber, Kelly Rolfes-Haase and Jooyeoun Suh, Ph.D.|2020-08-10T03:28:32-05:00June 27, 2018|Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Economy, Report|Comments Off on The Shifting Supply and Demand of Care Work: The Growing Role of People of Color and Immigrants