Australia has a gendered care problem with intergenerational impacts

A 2024 peer-reviewed paper published in the Australian Journal of Social Issues surveyed 4,266 grandparents and 9,822 parents in Australia and found 32.5 per cent of Australian grandparents reported regularly caring for their grandchildren.

Australia has a gendered care problem with intergenerational impacts, the study found.

One of the researchers of the paper, professor of sociology and social policy at the University of Melbourne Lyn Craig, said grandmothers generally do the bulk of support work.

Professor Craig said the research suggested that grandfathers who were not partnered were much less likely to be involved in providing care.

"This implies that without a partner to facilitate that contact, it's harder for [grandfathers] to [provide care]," Professor Craig told the ABC.