This study analyzes how caring for older people or sick or disabled family members affects the work opportunities of women and men, in order to determine whether a care penalty in the labor market is more substantial for women than for men.

The analysis uses data from the Chilean Longitudinal Social Survey (2016–2021) to estimate a labor supply model that tracks individual changes in a sample of urban adults over time.

One key finding is that the probability of women participating in the labor market increases significantly if they provide less than 24 hours of care per week.

Caregiving is negatively associated with female labor force participation and the likelihood of being employed. For men, however, caregiving is not related to labor force participation and is positively associated with being employed. In contrast, female caregivers face a lower probability of employment, which decreases further as the intensity of care increases.

Care Penalty on Labor Market Outcomes in Chile: A Longitudinal Analysis by Gender