Gender inequalities among caregivers of dependent older adults

Abstract

This research aimed to understand the experiences and meanings that women attributed to becoming caregivers of dependent older adults, considering the analysis of gender socialization. Qualitative study with 53 family caregivers, carried out from June to September 2019, in the cities of Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, Araranguá, Manaus, Fortaleza, and Teresina. The analysis of the information was guided by the theoretical-methodological framework of hermeneutics-dialectics. The findings were organized into four categories: the caregiver role as something “natural” for women; men absent from the act of caring and maintenance of masculinity; the marital responsibility of wives and gender identity for care; and the economy and cisheteropatriarchy as determinants to undertake care. Women exercise care due to gender socialization. This fact is reinforced by the circumstances of being single, living with the older adults, male absence from sharing care, marital responsibility, and pressure to withdraw from the job market. In conclusion, the family-centered care model is sustained by women, due to the social dynamics built in a capitalist, cisheteropatriarchal-centered society. This indicates the need for society to intervene, reflect, and propose actions for balanced care between men and women.