Caring for Kith and Kin: Gender, Employment, and the Privatization of Care

This paper argues for a structural perspective on gender differences in caregiving. Using a broad definition of caregiving (to relatives, friends, as well as volunteer groups), we find that while wives give more than husbands, this can be explained, in part, by employment. Although employed wives give far more care than employed husbands, employed wives provide fewer hours of care to kin than do homemakers. Compared to wives employed in jobs unlike men's, wives employed in jobs like those of men give care in ways similar to men. This research provides evidence for theories that root women's caregiving in social structures confronted in adult life rather than personality formed in early life. While our findings suggest wives' employment may produce a certain weakening of extended families, employment may also produce a wider social integration, emphasizing voluntary rather than prescribed ties.