“No Way Out?” --A study of gendered care of the elderly in China

Based on “The Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey” (CLHLS, 2011) , a longitudinal survey started in 1998, this study examines more closely about elder care needs and care provided within families. Our analyses show that the “market” of family care givers is gendered. While women take more of the work, men (or sons) are still considered as care givers for the elderly today even though the son(s) in reality does not do any caregiving. Among major daily care providers, women are the major force, being wife, daughter, or daughter-in-law. This pattern reflects Chinese traditional values of “raising sons for old-age care 养儿防老” : “men work outside the family and women work within the family” (男主外女主内). Following the tradition, women today provide more hours of care per week and the elderly receiving the care value the care very much. However, if family remains as a major source of the elderly care, as expected and preferred by the elderly themselves, then the family and society should offer support to the primary care givers and a social policy should be developed to assist the care givers.