Part of It’s Not Your Father’s Market Series
By Elena Lipson, Market Development
July 2018
We’ve heard the reports that men are increasingly taking on a greater share of caregiving responsibilities, but the fact remains that the majority of caregivers (66%) are still women. Research also indicates that female caregivers may spend as much as 50% more time providing care than male caregivers.
So, here at Livpact, we think it’s important to design specifically for the female caregiver. We aren’t leaving men out though. We believe in the design principle that if you build a solution for a specific population (in this case, female caregivers), it will still have broad applicability to the general population.
There are a number of other factors that also support why we’ve designed Livpact for female caregivers and why we encourage more digital health and caregiving solutions to design for this population.
Women and Men Approach Caregiving Differently
Women tend to be tougher on themselves than men, leading them to “try harder” and “be perfect.” I see this all the time with the women I coach.
In the midst of all this “trying,” women are often carrying around tremendous guilt.
Guilt that they aren’t a good enough mother or daughter.
Guilt that they aren’t working as hard as their colleagues because of family responsibilities.
And this is how women feel BEFORE they even start caring for their elderly parents. The guilt, stress and doubt compound enormously once caregiving comes into the picture.
Most female caregivers never feel good enough. They don’t have the professional skills and networks to manage the complexities of caregiving. And they don’t get the support they need from the health system and community (more on that later).
Consequently, female caregivers often feel like they’ve failed, even though, in reality, the cards are stacked against them. Men don’t view the situation the same way; they are usually better able to recognize that the situation is the problem, not them.
“Men who are caregiving encounter our broken healthcare system and say, ‘this system is a mess;’ whereas women caregivers react with, ‘I’m failing’.”
– Anne Tumlinson, Livpact Advisor
These feelings of guilt and failure can really take their toll on female caregivers – physically, emotionally and mentally. Studies show that female caregivers have higher levels of depression, anxiety and other mental health challenges and that they are less likely to have their physical health needs met.
Women typically respond to caregiving challenges by staying home to provide time-consuming care. Men tend to respond by delaying retirement in order to assist with the financial burden of long-term care.
The stark differences in how women and men internalize the pressures of caregiving require a nuanced approach to designing caregiving solutions for women. We understand how and why caregiving feels different for women than it does for men and have designed Livpact with those differences in mind.
Supports for Female Caregivers Are Inadequate
In addition to battling their inner critic about their ability to be a good caregiver, female caregivers also lack adequate social, community and professional supports to help them care for their loved ones.
Too often, medical and aging professionals pass the buck when it comes to caregiving. Doctors, hospitals, insurance companies and senior living facilities often focus on the immediate issue or specific problem in front of them. Our health system and community support system still don’t do a great job coordinating to solve for complex issues, the kind that often arise in caregiving situations.
As a result, family caregivers are forced to play quarterback and coordinate all the moving parts. This is a daunting task for professionals – just look how busy geriatric care managers are – but even more challenging for someone who isn’t professionally trained.
Because female caregivers typically play this role on top of caring for their own children and working, they often have difficulty keeping up with their relationships and social networks. This can lead to social isolation during a time when they need support the most.
One of our goals with Livpact is to help ease the burden of coordinating care for family caregivers and to make it easier for them to find the resources and supports they need to care for their loved ones. We believe that by providing greater support for family caregivers, we can free up time for them to actually enjoy their family and friends – something that most female caregivers sorely need.
We strongly support women who want to have it all: To be caring daughters, loving mothers and productive, successful employees. But we know how hard this is for female caregivers when the existing solutions and supports aren’t designed to meet their unique needs and pain points.
We’re working to change that at Livpact and we need your help. Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comments and let us know what features and solutions matter most to you as family caregiver.
And stay tuned for our next post in this series where we dive deeper into why this isn’t your father’s market and the need for greater diversity in health tech.
In Case You Missed It: 3 Reasons Why It’s Not Your Father’s Market