Long-term care is a challenge for the entire family as they provide 85% of elder care; 25 million Americans (1 out of every 4 families) care for frail relatives. However, it is more specifically a woman’s issue.

Seventy percent of unpaid caregivers are women and 75% of these female caregivers are also employed outside the home. The typical caregiver is a woman, age 46, who also attends to the needs of her family and works outside the home full time. She provides an average of 20 hours of care each week. However, 55% spend more than 40 hours a week watching over a senior relative. Twenty percent are caring for elders in their own homes. An additional 10% of women expect to look after aging relatives in their homes in the near future.

The primary caregiver for an Alzheimer patient is 70-year-old woman with two chronic health problems of her own.

So much for the givers of care.  When we look at who is receiving long-term care, it still remains a woman's issue.  Sixty six percent of users of home care are women and 75% of nursing home residents are women.

This crisis of care also affects the workplace. In the United States, businesses are estimated to have lost $29 billion due to care-giving by their employees with another $11 billion in absenteeism added.