Staying at home to care for children (and older parents in the future) has normally been part of the woman’s Caretaker role. In our current economy, caretaking is low-income work or unpaid. This means that when a woman takes on the Caretaker role full-time, she misses out on potential earnings, skill development, and networking opportunities. A lack of earnings means lower Social Security benefit accumulation and a decrease in savings and investments. A double whammy!