By JOHN BREAUX

It’s no secret that America’s women bear the overwhelming burden for the care and well-being of their families. Women have risen to the challenge in the balancing act of juggling career, family and personal lives, while at the same time serving a vital role in developing the policies and programs responsible for addressing their needs.

A new challenge faces women as America grows older. “Baby boomer” women approach retirement age and make up a disproportionate share of caregivers for the elderly. In addition to caring for their aging parents and spouses, women have to respond to their own health and wellness needs as they grow older. Women are also living longer and more frequently accessing the support systems in place to care for them when they can no longer care for themselves.

The average American woman can expect to spend 17 years of her life caring for a child and 18 years caring for an elderly parent. Members of this “sandwich generation,” of women will outlive their husbands and could be widows for as long as 15 to 20 years. Caregivers spend their own income and, in many cases, deplete their retirement savings to provide for those for whom they are caring. We need to rethink our nation’s long-term care system and create policies that recognize the vital role of caregivers.

In Louisiana, more households are headed by women than in any other state. Consequently, we rank 49th in the percentage of women in the labor force and 49th in percentage of women living in poverty.

Women in Louisiana are caring for others their entire adult lives, only to be left without anyone to care for them as they grow older. Far too many of these women end up living in nursing homes because they cannot pay for long-term care programs that promote independent living.

The Senate Special Committee on Aging, which I chair, held a hearing to recognize the important role women play as caregivers to our children, our elderly, our sick and our disabled. I invited the 13 women of the Senate to tell their own experiences as caregivers. The senators gave compelling accounts of their caregiving role and offered valuable insight into what we should do to create better long-term care policies.

Our federal policies do too little to address the concerns of women as they age, but our aging committee will continue to work on behalf of our nation’s informal caregivers. Two years ago, I introduced the National Caregiver Support Program, legislation providing $125 million to states for family caregiver services, including respite care, counseling, education and training. I also support the Long-Term Care and Retirement Security Act, which gives individuals and their caregivers a tax credit to help cover long-term care expenses.

Women play a vital role in shaping our nation’s policies to meet the needs of an aging population. We must focus more national attention to the role women play in shaping health care, long-term care and family caregiving.

JOHN BREAUX represents Louisiana in the United States Senate.