Eldercare – only a woman’s business?

MEN and women age differently. Demographic and physiological differences aside, the ageing experience is also shaped by social and attitudinal expectations, and economic factors which are generally more in favour of men than women.

In Singapore as elsewhere in Asian societies, caring for the elderly, particularly, the sick older person is commonly accepted as a woman’s responsibility. It is not unusual for a daughter or daughter-in-law to give up formal employment (and future income security) to assume the role of a family caregiver. With the loss of income, the female caregiver becomes dependent on their spouses and family members for her daily living expenses. Although elderly care giving is an exhausting and full-time job, female caregivers are not formally paid, resulting in little or no income savings for her old age.

This gender perception in eldercare affects the woman’s career growth and employment opportunities. As a result, they are more likely to face financial difficulties in their old age. Should eldercare be solely a woman’s responsibility or a shared one among male and female members of the family? How can policies be modified to give women caregivers due recognition and some form of income security for old age?

Torn between two loves

Mrs Rosemary Pereira was doing well as a secretary in an American MNC nine years ago but at age 38, she left to become a full-time mother and care giver to her 70-year old mother who is suffering from Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpora (ITP). Read her story