Gendering care: family caregiving for older adults in Ukraine across attitudes and practices

OLENA STRELNYK, Dr. (Habil.) in Sociology, senior Research Fellow, Institute of Sociology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (12, Shovkovychna St., Kyiv, 01021)

olena.strelnyk@gmail.com

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9027-4758

SCOPUS ID: 57200148918

MYKHAILO SOSSA, MA Student, Program in Sociocultural Anthropology, Heidelberg University (2 Voßstraße, Gebäude, 4110, 69115, Heidelberg, Germany)

mihaelsossa@gmail.com

https://orcid.org/0009-0004-4704-2934

The central research question of the paper concerns the extent to which family care for older people in Ukraine is gendered at the level of sociocultural attitudes and at the level of practices? More specifically: does Ukrainian society place responsibility for the care of older relatives predominantly on women, and how is this responsibility actually distributed between women and men in everyday practices?

The article is based on the data from authors’ research conducted using a mixed-methods design. The quantitative component draws on data from nationally representative surveys conducted according to the authors’ methodology (2025, 2026). The qualitative component is based on in-depth interviews with women (n = 13) and men (n = 13) primary caregivers for older relatives (2025–2026).

The authors argue that sociocultural expectations of role distribution in care giving are weakly gendered: the large majority of respondents hold the view that gender is not a determining factor in the allocation of care responsibilities. At the level of practices, however, care is more pronouncedly gendered: women are more frequently involved in intensive caregiving, a pattern shaped both by demographic imbalance (the predominance of women among older age cohorts) and by the complex influence of the gender order on everyday practices, particularly in the context of care giving role distribution within heterosexual partnerships. This discrepancy between attitudes and practices reflects the broader structuring effect of the gender order on care giving roles allocation.

Keywords: care work and caregiving; family care; elderly care; gender roles, gender attitudes; Ukraine

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Received 03.09.2026

Accepted for publication after review 25.10.2026