A Very Special Women’s History Month
By presidential proclamation every year since 1987, March is designated Women’s History Month — a month set aside to recognize and celebrate the contributions and achievements of women throughout the course of American history.
Each year, the National Women's History Alliance assigns a theme to the celebration. For 2022, that theme is: Women Providing Healing, Promoting Hope. According to the Alliance, the theme is "both a tribute to the ceaseless work of caregivers and frontline workers during this ongoing pandemic and also a recognition of the thousands of ways that women of all cultures have provided both healing and hope throughout history."
As a company of caregivers, founded by caregivers, serving caregivers and dedicated to providing healing and hope for those in need of care, we could not be more proud of this designation, and of the long-overdue recognition it represents for female caregivers everywhere.
According to a survey of recent studies published by the Family Caregiver Alliance® approximately 66% of family caregivers are female. The average caregiver is a woman over 40 who works outside the home while also providing 20 hours per week of unpaid care. And those "average caregivers" are legion: as many as 20% of all female workers in the United States also provide family caregiving.
All that care comes at a serious cost. Even when a woman is (heroically, who are we kidding?) able to continue working outside the home while caring for family members, she is likely losing out on hourly income, job promotions and retirement funding. A 2015 MetLife study included in the survey found that the total cost impact in terms of lost wages and Social Security benefits for an individual female family caregiver equals $324,044.
If that doesn't deserve at least ONE MONTH of recognition, we don't know what does.
Well actually, we do know. We know because the founder of Overture Home Care — Denise Helms, BSN, RN — spent her entire professional life in the elder care space and recognized two things about family caregiving:
First, our family members deserve the very best care so that they can age with dignity and as much independence as possible. Second, the family caregivers themselves need help — lots of help, compassionate, professional and on-call 24/7.
So that’s what we provide here at Overture Home Care. We know what you’re working for. We know what it’s costing you. And we can help. Please call us today for a free consultation at (817) 887-9401.
LINKS:
The Family Caregiver Alliance — Women and Caregiving: Facts and Figures https://www.caregiver.org/resource/women-and-caregiving-facts-and-figures/
The History Channel Women’s History Month 2022 Information Page
https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/womens-history-monthNational Women’s History Museum WHM 2022 Resource Toolkit https://www.womenshistory.org/sites/default/files/document/2022-03/NWHM%20Women%27s%20History%20Month%20Resource%20Toolkit%202022_1.pdf
Library of Congress Women’s History Month Page https://womenshistorymonth.gov/