Gender and Intra-household Organization for the Care of the Disabled in Mexico

Estela Rivero Fuentes, El Colegio de México

This paper shows, based on a subsample of households where at least one member had a severe disability of the 2002 Mexican National Time Use Survey, that men are less involved caregiving activities than women in their household (p<0.001). Nevertheless, the degree of men and women’s involvement depends on the degree of participation of other household members. We identify four different patterns of organization that members can follow to care for their disabled: a) No resident cares; b) there is only one principal carer; c) there are several carers, with one principal carer; and d) there are several carers, contributing equally. When men live alone with the disabled person, they are as likely as women to provide care (p<0.995). When men live with other persons in the household, they are less likely than women to participate in caregiving (p<0.001), but they contribute to certain activities iteratively