Gender, work and caregiving are often woven together in family life in the United States. Most parents with children under 18 are employed. And as the population ages, a growing share of Americans are caring for an older parent. In fact, many U.S. adults are sandwiched in between roles, supporting both children and parents.

When we begin to focus on the challenges that come with balancing family caregiving and work responsibilities, the disproportionate burden that falls on women stands out.

Women have made clear gains in the workforce in just a couple of generations: They’ve made inroads into management and leadership positions, and their earning power has grown. At the same time, many have maintained the position of default caregiver within their family unit, even while they are working full time. This has made it difficult for women collectively to reach parity with men at home or in the workplace.

Women streamed into the U.S. labor force in the 1970s and 1980s, but their participation leveled off around 1990 and has stayed remarkably stable since then. Women remain less likely to be in the labor force than men. The stability is especially notable when you consider the gains women have made in higher education in recent decades, outpacing men in college completion.

Today the gap in labor force participation between women and men is 9 percentage points. The gap between women and men with children is much wider. In 2025, 74% of women with children under 18 were working or looking for work, compared with 94% of men with children.

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