Women

There are higher rates of women who have caregiving roles. Discriminating against caregivers is often a form of discrimination against women, leaving themselves exposed to lost wages, stymied careers, forced part-time status, termination, or early retirement. Additionally, women who take time off to provide non-paid caregiving services have a difficult time re-entering the workforce - and re-entering the workforce at their previous level.

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The following article demonstrated the increased strain on women during the covid-19 pandemic because of the caregiving role, published in 2021, showing the continual vulnerabilities caregiving women have and the importance of inclusive policies.

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The disproportionate caregiving burden shouldered by women is, of course, a major factor in the past year of job losses and gender inequality overall, as is the concentration of women of color in hard-hit sectors and in industries with few job protections. But these phenomena do not fully account for the ways women continue to be marginalized and stymied at work, leaving them stretched thin, stressed out and inadequately rewarded for their contributions. Women were already burned out before the pandemic hit. Although many organizations have the best intentions when it comes to hiring, advancing and retaining women, the reality is they too often foster environments that leave female employees feeling diminished, disengaged and pessimistic about their prospects.

The truth is, the pandemic and the financial hits that resulted have merely revealed the extent to which our workplaces still don't work for women. As bleak as this realization may be, it points us toward a brighter future: If companies do the work now to cure the underlying disease, they can emerge stronger than they were before the pandemic roiled the world. (1)

Military Families

Members of military families can be thrown into a caregiving role due to physical and mental injuries occurred due to their loved one's service. Some injuries are visible, such as a loss of limb or paralysis, while others are harder to see, such as traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The latter injuries can cause the caregiver to experience stigma by association, increasing the risk that the caregiver will experience isolation and shame. The caregiving needed for a wounded veteran can especially be detrimental to the partner, as a lack of workplace flexibility can cause loss of income.

Of note, there is another nonprofit that focuses on military families called to caregiving duty, called Blue Star Families. They work to increase the care for the caregivers themselves.

Single Parent Homes

Another sector especially vulnerable to the consequences of caregiving and who would especially benefit from an inclusive workplace are single parent families. Single parent families can consist of a biological parent, a relative, a guardian, or a foster parent who are responsible for minor-aged children or adults who are disabled. The single parent - especially when there are limited external supports - must fulfill the wide range of family responsibilities while simultaneously be the primary provider for the family. Becoming a caregiver puts additional stress on the weight that the single parent is carrying. Caregiving increases time demands, financial pressures, and stress, thus increasing the importance of inclusivity of caregivers in the workplace.

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"Single parents often find themselves in untenable situations when employers demand long hours of overtime work. A leading example is Tenneco Packaging Burlington Container Plant, which involved a janitor who was the divorced mother of a 17-year-old son with the mentality of an 18-month-old child. She was fired, after working 27 years for her employer, for failing to report one Saturday in August when her son’s caregiver could not work because the caregiver’s child was sick. The janitor had been working 60-hour weeks, including every Saturday except one for the prior four months." (10)