Meaning of Housework and Other Unpaid Responsibilities Among Older Women

ABSTRACT

This study explores the meaning and conditions of housework and other unpaid responsibilities for older women. Taped, in-person interviews were conducted with 53 ethnically and economically diverse women, 55–84 years old. The interview guide contained open-ended questions regarding the process of taking on housework and other unpaid responsibilities and the centrality to personal identity. Participants reported shifts in perceptions of housework as work, decreased importance of housework with age, the attitude of care recipients affecting the experience and meaning of unpaid responsibilities, and the impact of historical racist events on viewing unpaid responsibilities as opportunity.

KEYWORDS:

• Housework
• unpaid responsibilities
• older women