Women at Work

Consumed by Caregiving

Nov 25, 2024

Marti Bledsoe, executive director of the Kids Mental Health Foundation, shares her eye-opening journey of burnout and the relentless responsibilities of caregiving. Sociologist Jessica Calarco adds insights into the societal expectations that position women as primary caregivers, often at the expense of their professional aspirations. They discuss the burden of managing health crises, navigating job searches, and the systemic inequalities that persist in caregiving roles. Together, they emphasize the need for collective support and policy changes to better support women caregivers.

40:39

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Episode guests

Marti Bledsoe

Jessica Calarco

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Marty Bledsoe's personal experience illustrates how societal expectations force women into unpaid caregiving roles, significantly impacting their mental health and career progression.

Jessica Calarco emphasizes the need for systemic changes, like universal caregiver support policies, to address the disproportionate burdens placed on women in the U.S.

Deep dives

The Challenges of Caregiving

Marty Bledsoe's journey highlights the immense pressures faced by caregivers, particularly women, in maintaining their family responsibilities while managing their own mental health challenges. After resigning from her job due to burnout while supporting her teenager through a depressive episode, Marty quickly found herself overwhelmed as numerous life stressors piled up. The chaos of moving homes, navigating her fiancé’s injury, and managing her mother's health issues illustrated the relentless demands placed on her time. This situation exemplifies the broader issue many women face when they assume the default caregiver role and struggle to balance multiple responsibilities without adequate support.

Intro

2min

The Burden of Caregiving: Women's Challenges

12min

Navigating Work-Life Imbalance and Queer Experiences at Work

2min

Reimagining Care: Women's Roles and Systemic Inequality

16min

Empowering Women Through Collective Action

2min

Navigating Work-Life Balance Amidst Commute Challenges

3min

Navigating the Unseen Burden of Caregiving

6min

Exploring Caregiving Challenges and Collective Solutions

2min

Marti Bledsoe, a past guest of the show, recounts how she burned out, quit her job, intended to get a new job after taking a breather, and then wasn’t able to for over a year. That’s because someone in her family kept getting sick or hurt, she had to move twice, and all of the logistics and emotional support fell to her (because who else was going to do it?!).

These ever-expanding, relentless set of responsibilities is the norm for lots of women in the U.S., especially mothers. Sociologist Jessica Calarco joins Marti and Amy B to help make sense of Marti’s exhausting year of unpaid work and the forces that put her and other women into the position of being people’s default, unpaid caregiver.

Guest expert:

Jessica Calarco is a sociologist at the University of Wisconsin and the author of the book Holding It Together: How Women Became America’s Safety Net.

Resources: