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A University of Michigan study estimates that U.S. women can expect to spend seven years of their lives caring for older adults, compared with four years for men. The gap appears in care for parents, grandparents, extended family and friends, but not in care for a spouse or partner.
A University of Michigan study estimates that women in the United States provide seven years of care to older family members and friends over their lifetimes, compared with four years for men. The estimate for women rose from six years in 2011, while men’s remained unchanged, leaving a three-year gender gap in 2023, the researchers report.
Researchers Vicki Freedman and Crystal Yee To Ng analyzed nearly 8,500 responses to the National Study of Caregiving, combining them with federal population data to estimate how many years adults age 20 and older may spend caring for older people. Their findings were published in The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences.
The estimates cover a range of support, including personal care, household tasks, transportation and medical tasks. Women were expected to spend more years than men providing each kind of assistance the study examined. The difference varied by relationship: women could expect to provide more than an additional year of care to a parent, several more months to a grandparent, and more than an extra year to extended family and friends.
Spousal caregiving was an exception. Men and women were estimated to spend about 1.5 years caring for a spouse or partner over a lifetime. The study describes expected lifetime years based on current caregiving rates; it does not track each participant’s full life course or predict an individual’s personal experience.
The Work Behind the Three-Year Gap
The findings put caregiving into a lifetime frame, showing a difference that short surveys can miss. Many earlier studies measure care over brief periods, while this analysis estimates years across adulthood. That can help readers and policymakers see how the responsibilities may accumulate over time, though the estimate does not establish why women provide more care.
The scale of caregiving is growing. The report says the number of family caregivers assisting U.S. adults age 65 and older rose from 18 million in 2011 to more than 24 million in recent years. If more older adults need help, a persistent gender gap could affect how unpaid care is distributed among families and how much support caregivers may need. Those are implications of the estimates, not outcomes directly measured by the study.
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How Researchers Estimated Lifetime Care
The researchers used a demographic method to combine information from different age groups and calculate the expected years of caregiving if current rates continue into the future. This differs from simply asking how many people provided care during a particular month or year. The resulting figures are population estimates, not a claim that every woman will provide seven years of care or every man four.
Freedman, a research professor at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research, said the increase in men taking on caregiving roles has not closed the lifetime gap. The report also points to a rising share of older adults who have no close family. That could increase demand for support beyond immediate family, although the study does not quantify how much care will come from friends, paid workers or other sources.
“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, University of Michigan research professor
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What Could Change the Estimates
The lifetime figures assume that current caregiving rates continue; they are not forecasts of fixed future outcomes. The study does not establish what causes the gender difference, how caregiving affects caregivers’ finances or health, or how much of the projected need will be met by paid care. Its estimates also do not tell readers how responsibilities are shared within individual households.
Researchers point to changing family structures, the cost and availability of paid care, and social norms as factors that could affect future patterns. The report raises the possibility that the gap could grow as the number of older adults without close kin increases, but that is a conditional projection rather than a confirmed trend in future caregiving.
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Future Care Depends on Support
The study does not announce a follow-up date or a new caregiving program. The next development will depend on whether researchers and public agencies track how caregiving rates change as the population ages and family networks shift. Further data could show whether men’s lifetime years of care rise, whether women’s estimates continue to increase, and how paid care affects the distribution of unpaid work.
For now, the researchers’ estimates provide a snapshot based on data from 2011 and 2023, not a guarantee about what will happen next. Changes in access to affordable care and in who is available to provide support may alter the pattern over time.
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Key Questions
How many years of caregiving do women and men provide?
The study estimates that women can expect to provide seven years of care to older adults over their lifetimes, compared with four years for men, based on 2023 rates.
Did the gender gap apply to caring for a spouse?
No. The researchers estimated that men and women spend about 1.5 years over their lifetimes caring for a spouse or partner.
What kinds of caregiving did the study include?
The analysis covered help such as personal care, household chores, transportation and medical tasks for older adults.
How did researchers calculate lifetime caregiving?
Researchers analyzed nearly 8,500 National Study of Caregiving responses alongside federal population data to estimate years of care across adulthood. The figures assume current rates hold; they are not individual predictions.
Could the gap change in the future?
Yes. The researchers say future patterns may depend on family changes, access to affordable paid care and social norms. The study does not confirm whether the gap will grow or narrow.
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