Unpaid family caregiving for children, aging parents, and loved ones with disabilities is fundamental to family and community well-being, yet it remains largely invisible in our economy and public policy. Women shoulder a disproportionate share of this work, spending significantly more time than men on caregiving at every stage of life. This imbalance is shaped by entrenched gender norms, structural inequalities, and the absence of adequate public support systems. The burden falls hardest on women of color and low-income women, who face the greatest care demands with the fewest resources to meet them.
The economic consequences are substantial and long-lasting. Unpaid care responsibilities push women out of the workforce, reduce their hours, and limit their career advancement, with ripple effects on lifetime earnings, retirement savings, and long-term financial security. Creating a system where family caregiving is recognized, valued, and more equitably distributed will be the only way to advance gender and racial economic equity.
Featured Policy Solutions
Invest in strengthening Medicaid’s Home and Community-Based Services.
Medicaid is the primary source of funding for long-term services and supports for adults with disabilities and older Americans, with home- and community-based services (HCBS) allowing adults who need support to stay in their homes and communities so they can live independently and with dignity. HCBS provides critical services, including respite services for family caregivers, and supports older adults and people with disabilities in “self-directing” their own care and in hiring a family member as their caregiver if they choose. Policymakers should prioritize increasing access to HCBS, including through consistent and robust funding.
Pass an expanded Child Tax Credit.
Policymakers should look to passing a permanent expanded Child Tax Credit that builds on the success of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) changes, including increasing the Child Credit Tax amount and ensuring its accessibility for the lowest-income families, including those with no earnings, and making it fully refundable—meaning if the credit exceeds the amount a family owes in federal taxes, they will receive the full amount of the credit as a refund.
Expand Social Security to recognize unpaid care.
Policymakers should implement caregiver credits to improve the adequacy of Social Security benefits. Such caregiver credits would be particularly important for caregivers who withdraw from the labor force or interrupt their careers to provide unpaid care.
