The Underappreciated Role of Women in Caregiving

| 3 June 2026 |

Undergraduate Summer Student Research Fellow Kelly Lu is working with the Balancing Act project this summer. After one month with the team getting acquainted with the project data, Kelly shares some reflections on the particular role women play - and are expected to perform - as caregivers. Words by Kelly Lu.

“If my mother isn’t well, then I won’t be well either…” - Interviewee in Bangladesh.

This statement reveals one reality of caregiving: the wellbeing of people with disabilities is often directly tied to the wellbeing of those who care for them.

While Balancing Act aims to better understand the relationship between natural and formal supports for people with disabilities, it is also bringing attention to patterns in caregiving across countries that I find difficult to ignore. We define natural support as unpaid help/care provided by family members, friends, or community members, while formal support as structured, paid support from trained professionals. In countries that rely more heavily on natural support, such as in Bangladesh, Mozambique, and Guatemala, caregiving responsibilities fall disproportionately on women. Mothers, wives, and daughters are often expected to provide constant physical and emotional care, while also managing household responsibilities.

To me, this reveals an unequal and unspoken burden. When care is seen as an expectation rather than labour, there is often a lack of recognition, compensation, and praise. In Mozambique, we found that the majority of unpaid caregivers were women, while most paid formal caregivers were men. Additionally, when caregiving is made invisible through obligation, we risk making caregivers’ struggles invisible as well. In Bangladesh, caregivers reported high levels of stress, depression, and physical strain from constant aid. Over time, these unequal responsibilities can also limit women’s opportunities for employment, education, and personal time, reinforcing cycles of poverty and isolation that are preventable.

I want to be clear: this is not to say that these women do not want to care for their loved ones. Caregiving is a labour of love, but it is also emotionally and physically demanding, and it is not sustainable without state assistance.

What Balancing Act showed me is that access to both natural and formal support can improve the lives of caretakers, particularly women. In Bangladesh, our community partners CDD and Carers Worldwide provided financial assistance, emotional support, and medical resources that strengthened family wellbeing. One family member shares, “As a woman, I hardly get any extra time for myself… When I come to the [Community Caring] centre, I bring my sewing work and do it while my child plays with toys and interacts with others. I enjoy doing stitching.” For me, this showed how additional support can reduce stress and create an environment for women to reconnect with their own interests and sense of self outside of caregiving. Another participant explained that their mother had become “a respected leader in the community” and that their family was “no longer neglect[ed] like before.” I think this demonstrates how improvements in support systems can also restore social inclusion for women caregivers.

Similarly, in Mozambique, our community partners Light for the World and AMAVIDA provided financial support that enabled families to start small businesses, raise livestock, and imagine a future beyond survival. For women who are usually excluded from payment, these opportunities offered financial independence and autonomy.

In the absence of formal support, it seems to me that responsibility for disability inclusion is quietly transferred from public systems to private families, reinforcing traditional gender roles and normalizing inequalities. For this reason, I believe greater support from healthcare systems and governments is needed to sustain caregivers and ensure individuals with disabilities receive the care they deserve. This means access to more formal supports, opportunities for employment, and financial assistance.

School of Rehabilitation Therapy