Aging and gender: a comparative study of care policies between Argentina, Spain and Uruguay

Un estudio comparado de las políticas de cuidado en Argentina, España y Uruguay

Abstract

The initiative to compare the care policies of the elderly in Argentina, Spain and Uruguay arises from the fact that these three countries share some similar characteristics: they are aging societies, cultural attachment to family traditions and a strong female allocation of care. This article aims to: a) characterize the population of older people in Argentina, Uruguay and Spain taking into account the gender perspective; and b) to compare the policies of care for the elderly in the three countries. The methodological strategy based on secondary sources included a bibliographic survey, statistical analysis and legal frameworks that allow the three selected countries to be compared. Regardless of the regional contexts, similarities are observed in certain trends such as the increase in life expectancy, in the decrease in fertility, in the pronounced regional heterogeneities of the elderly population as well as and difficulties with the deepening of the adjustment policies that increase the vulnerability of this population segment in these countries.

KEYWORDS: Aging. Social policies. Care. Gender.