Who cares? The grandmother kinship carers shouldering the burden within a gendered care economy

Abstract

It is estimated that around half of all kinship carers in the UK are grandparents. International studies show that when broken down by gender, these carers are predominantly grandmothers. However, there is little research exploring the gender dimensions of kinship carers’ experiences. Drawing on data from qualitative interviews with 27 grandparent kinship carers, this article highlights the gendered context in which the grandparents we spoke to found themselves. The grandparents – the majority of whom were grandmothers - described lives filled with multiple unpaid caring commitments and demands. We discuss the ways that gender norms, roles and stereotypes, alongside economic models and policies that invisiblise women’s care work, shaped the experiences of the grandmothers who took part in our research. We argue that, despite their undeniable determination and commitment to love, nurture and care for their grandchildren in very difficult circumstances, and the money they are saving the state in doing so, grandmother kinship carers are penalized in multiple ways. Economically, emotionally, socially, physically and practically, grandmother kinship carers are unsupported and undervalued. We need a social, economic and cultural shift around the value of care and a redistribution of care work across genders. The situations of grandmother kinship carers need to be part of this shift, so that grandmothers who care for their grandchildren are no longer penalized, and all kinship carers are properly supported and valued.