Caregivers on the move: Gender and socioeconomic status in the care mobility in Bogotá

Abstract

The concept of mobility of care is relatively new and generating growing interest, because it allows a greater understanding of daily mobility and the differences in time use (TU) and unpaid workloads in the population. There is a large unexplored field of study in the relationships between the socioeconomic and gender characteristics of the population and care trips in large Latin American cities. This study uses the Mobility Survey for Bogotá − 2019 to characterizes travel for caregivers in the city, identifying trips made for care reasons, and then relating the analysis to variables of gender, age, socioeconomic status, occupation, and time and mode of transport used, in order to highlight and deepen the understanding of interdependence relationships between caregivers and care receivers. Results show that care work and care trips are carried out mostly by women, and we also find an unequal burden among caregivers and their socioeconomic conditions, with the lower strata population assuming a greater burden for care trips and time use when caring for others. Our findings contribute to the understanding of a phenomenon of growing importance and allow progress in the design and implementation of public policies towards a triple objective: transparency for care tasks and mobility, facilitation of their execution, and minimizing gender and socioeconomic status inequalities.