Support For Caregivers is Finally Growing. Let’s Build On That Momentum.

Five years ago, the COVID-19 pandemic threw a spotlight on a problem that had long been relegated to the shadows: the lack of support for Americans who care for their children, aging parents, and loved ones with disabilities. The demands of child and long-term care had already forced millions of Americans to shoulder around-the-clock caregiving responsibilities at home alongside full-time jobs outside of it. But when daycare centers closed and schools and offices went remote, this untenable reality became impossible to ignore.

Suddenly, coverage of caregivers was everywhere. TIME Magazine reported that “caregiver” was the “newest workplace identity.” Toddlers began appearing in the background of Zoom meetings. People took to social media to share their stories. And many leaders started to see what advocates had spent decades urging them to realize: Caregiving should be treated not as a private responsibility but as a collective public imperative.

Today, more employers offer care-related benefits and flexible work arrangements, more states are passing policies to support caregivers, and more investors are waking up to this multibillion-dollar market. Furthermore, at a time when so much social progress is at stake in the United States, caregiving remains a rare area of broad public support and investment potential. As a result, it’s a significant opportunity to make inroads on an issue that is foundational to unlocking women’s power, strengthening our economy, and easing the burdens of families around the country.

With that in mind, Pivotal is taking a look at the caregiving sector’s recent growth—and calling on leaders everywhere to turn this groundswell into a true revolution that transforms the lives of women and families.

Businesses are seeing the case for care

The COVID-19 pandemic forced millions of women out of the workforce, largely to take on unpaid caregiving responsibilities, so it’s no surprise that it also spurred many employers to recognize that it’s in their best interest to enact policies that help employees manage work with responsibilities at home—and that these benefits are key to attracting and retaining top talent and maximizing productivity.

“Before the pandemic, I did have CEOs tell me that child care wasn’t on their list of top three things they were thinking about,” said Nicole Riehl, president and CEO of Executives Partnering to Invest in Children (EPIC), a Pivotal partner. “Today, child care and care issues are most of the time on the top-three list.”

And it’s not just child care benefits. According to a survey by S&P Global, the share of caregivers whose employers provided supportive policies and benefits increased from 2020 to 2023 in nearly every single area they measured, from more flexible work schedules to paid family leave to subsidized back-up elder and child care.

There’s also more research that makes the business case for care, and there are more resources available to employers. Last year, a report from Moms First revealed that companies can recoup more than $4 for every $1 they spend on child care benefits, while a Care.com survey showed that 1 in 5 employees left a job because their employer didn’t provide enough care benefits. And EPIC partnered with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation to produce the Employer Child Care Navigator, a free online tool that helps businesses take the first step toward offering employees the support they need.

“Here’s the thing: Many employers want to help,” Nicole said. “They just don’t always know where to start.”

Policy momentum: “When care is on the ballot, it wins”

Just as more employers have invested in care, so have lawmakers at every level of government, with caregiving policies gaining broad bipartisan support among both voters and policymakers.

A recent survey revealed that the overwhelming majority of voters across party lines—82 percent—agree that policymakers and candidates should prioritize measures to ease caregivers’ burden. And many elected officials have started to listen.

Four years ago, the U.S. came closer than ever to enacting a national paid family and medical leave policy. Shortly after that, Congress secured the single largest funding increase in history, nearly $2 billion, for a program that helps low-income families get child care. Just a few months ago, members of Congress from both sides of the aisle came together to reintroduce bipartisan, bicameral legislation that would make child care more affordable and accessible.

And while there is more national attention than ever before, some of the greatest progress for caregivers has come from states.

In 2022, New Mexico became the first U.S. state to offer free child care to the majority of families—which lifted 120,000 people out of poverty. Vermont passed a 2023 bill that invests $125 million every year to expand access to child care. Michigan implemented the Tri-Share program, which helps middle-income families afford care by splitting the cost evenly among them, the state, and participating employers. And 13 states plus the District of Columbia now have paid family and medical leave policies.

“Support for caregivers is happening more and more at the state level,” Jason Resendez, president and CEO of the National Alliance for Caregiving, one of Pivotal’s partners, told us recently.

He added: “When care is on the ballot, it wins.”

Exciting innovation in a $648 billion market

Business. Government. Venture capital. Each of these sectors has increased their support for caregiving in the last five years. But no one spends more than the everyday caregivers themselves. Even by the most conservative estimates, family caregivers spend more than a quarter of their income on costs related to care every year, with no sign of slowing down.

Yet for a long time, even as people’s spending was growing, investors were overlooking the caregiving market. “I remember the days when we would walk in the room and say ‘care economy,’ and people wouldn’t know what we were talking about,” said Julie Wroblewski, co-founder and managing partner of our investment partner Magnify Ventures.

The most recent figures value this care economy at $648 billion dollars annually, surpassing the U.S. pharmaceutical industry. Today, venture capitalists have grown more attuned to the need—and the opportunities: Our internal analysis of PitchBook data showed that there has been three times more investment in the care economy in the past five years than there was in the same timeframe leading up to the pandemic.

We’re also seeing a growing range of players come up with innovative solutions, such Cocoon’s leave management software that makes it easier for employees to access paid leave. Companies like Little Otter are easing the mental health care burden that weighs down so many caregivers by providing a range of mental health supports for children and parents. And Synapticure, which has been offering personalized virtual care for people living with diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and ALS since 2022, recently partnered with a federal program, GUIDE, to expand its support for caregivers to all 50 states.

There are also more innovations on the horizon. As Julie pointed out, young people in particular are filled with creative ideas for how to leverage AI for caregivers. “Young entrepreneurs will use the technology we are seeing emerging today to create solutions we couldn’t even dream of 10 years ago,” she said.

Cause to accelerate, not slow down

Despite all of this momentum, caregivers’ needs still far outstrip the available supports.

In almost every state across the country, child care now costs more than rent and mortgage payments—with single parents, low-income families, and Black and brown communities bearing the highest costs. The shortage of paid care professionals underscores the urgent need to increase pay and protections for these essential workers. And even though more employers are now offering care-related benefits, others have scaled back the flexible schedules that are essential for helping caregivers better manage their competing responsibilities—with lower income workers less likely to have either care benefits or flexible options.

The fact that the pandemic is now in our rearview mirror shouldn’t feel like permission to slow progress or reverse trends; if anything, it’s incentive for leaders everywhere to accelerate their efforts. And doing so is in the best interest of every sector: Businesses that prioritize care will have a significant leg up in attracting and retaining top talent. Investors and entrepreneurs can profit from the market’s untapped potential. At a time when Americans are increasingly divided, caregiving stands out as a rare unifier.

And for philanthropists who care about making a meaningful difference in the lives of women and families, care is a uniquely catalytic cause. That’s why Pivotal has focused on the issue since the early days of our founding: When women say that a lack of caregiving support is their biggest barrier to professional advancement, we know that fixing this country’s outdated caregiving system would be a force multiplier. Since 2019, we’ve committed $265 million toward care, and it’s been encouraging to see more funders advocate for policies and practices that support caregivers.

But there is no question that we need more funders to join the fight to truly transform care in this country.

“It’s an exciting time for the caregiving sector, but also a precarious one,” said Renee Wittemyer, vice president of program strategy at Pivotal. “We have the chance to solve a crisis that has held back women and families in this country for decades—but only if leaders step up and give this issue the attention it deserves. Otherwise, we risk losing the precious gains we have made.”

If leaders do seize this moment, they’ll be contributing to what is perhaps the most important shift of all: rewriting the story of care in this country, one that doesn’t center the burnout, fears, and financial strain that so many caregivers must carry every day, but that celebrates instead the deep wellspring of purpose and community that comes with the act of caring for another human being.

“Caregiving is one of the most meaningful, important things you can do with your life, but it shouldn’t be one of the most difficult,” said Jennifer Stybel, Pivotal’s caregiving strategy director. “We want families to feel a sense of ease in being able to care for each other—to be focused not on the burden, but the love.”