Workplace Lacks Support for Older Women Caregivers

The modern workplace is largely unequipped to support women in their late careers who face significant caregiving responsibilities for aging parents. The author recounts a personal experience in her late 50s, when her mother's declining health forced a stark choice: abandon her decades-old business or place her mother in a care facility. This situation highlighted a systemic gap in workplace structures, which are often designed around the assumption that men have a woman at home absorbing domestic and caregiving burdens.

For 35 years, the author coached senior leaders, predominantly men, whose career paths were smoothed by societal structures that did not impose motherhood penalties or caregiving crises. When she encountered her own caregiving challenge, she found no existing map or support system within the professional world she had dedicated her life to. The corporate environment had not envisioned women remaining in leadership roles while simultaneously managing the decline of their parents.

A recent article in Fast Company, "Corporate America is crushing senior-level mothers" by Shalene Gupta, resonated deeply with many women, eliciting thousands of responses. These women shared their experiences of navigating early career challenges, including childcare and career progression around childbirth. However, beyond the initial relief of being seen, a persistent question emerged: what comes next?

Most organizations continue to structure career trajectories around the "young-mother arc," assuming the primary conflict for women is between raising children and professional ambition. While this tension is real, it is only a partial view of a woman's working life. This narrow focus creates a barrier at the beginning of a career, leaving the later stages, which often involve elder care, unsupported and unaddressed within corporate planning.