Women age forty-five and over are an important component of all working women and of the older labor force. They make up almost 30 percent of the female civilian labor force. Of the older labor force, 40 percent are women. Yet contrary to societal values about equality in the market place, employment-related experience of older women is not only different from that of men but frequently disadvantaged. This article examines the growing importance of the issue of market equality of older working women. It then considers six ways in which their employment-related experience differs from that of men: labor force participation rates; occupational distribution; earnings; unemployment; poverty; and retirement income. The article concludes with suggested policy directions that would improve the status of older women. Some of these would assist, as well, employment needs of older men.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
U.S. Bureau of the Census, Demographic Aspects of Aging and the Older Population in the United States, Special Studies Series23:59 (Rev.), 1978.
2.
U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Earnings, 30:1, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1983.
3.
FullertonH. N., The 1995 Labor Force: A First Look, Monthly Labor Review, 103:12, pp. 11–21, December, 1980.
4.
U.S. Social Security Administration reported in New York Times, May 31, 1983.
5.
GlendonM. A., The New Family and the New Property, Butterworths, Toronto, 1981.
6.
U. S. Handbook on Labor Statistics, Bulletin 2070, Bureau of Labor Statistics, December, 1980.
7.
O'NeillJ. and BrownR., Women and the Labor Market: A Survey of Issues and Policies in the United States, The Urban Institute, Washington, D.C., November, 1981.
8.
RonesP. L., The Aging of the Older Population and Labor Force Participation, Monthly Labor Review, 105:9, pp. 27–29, September, 1982.
9.
U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Earnings, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Table A-2, 30:1, January, 1983.
10.
ReaganB. B., “DeFacto Job Segregation,” in American Women Workers in a Full Employment Economy, U. S. Joint Economic Committee, Joint Committee Print, Washington, D.C., pp. 90–102, 1977.
11.
U.S. Department of Labor, The Female—Male Earnings Gap: A Review of Employment and Earnings Issues, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Report 673, 1982.
12.
U.S. Department of Labor, Employment in Perspective, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Fourth Quarter/Annual Summary, Report 677, 1982.
13.
U.S. Department of Labor, Mature Women Workers: A Profile, Women's Bureau, 1976.
14.
KrepsJ., Age, Work and Income, Southern Economic Journal, 43:4, pp. 1423–1437, April, 1977.
15.
ClarkR.KrepsJ., and SpenglerJ., Economics of Aging: A Survey, Journal of Economic Literature, 16:3, September, 1978.
16.
UrquhartM. and HewsonM. A., Unemployment Continued to Rise in 1982 as Recession Deepened, Monthly Labor Review, 106:2, pp. 3–12, February 1983.
17.
SchreiberC. T., Changing Places: Men and Women in Transitional Occupations, MIT Press, Cambridge, 1979.
18.
O'FarrellB., Women and Non-Traditional Blue Collar Jobs in the 1980's: An Overview, in Women in the Work Place, WallaceP. (ed.), Auburn House Publishing Co., Boston, pp. 135–165, 1982.
19.
U.S. Bureau of the Census, Characteristics of the Population Below the Poverty Level: 1980, Special Studies Series, No. 133, p. 60, July 1982.
20.
KahneH., Women and Social Security: Social Policy Adjusts to Social Change, International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 13:3, pp. 195–208, 1981.
21.
SchulzJ. H., Private Pensions and Women, in Women in Midlife—Security and Fulfillment, Part I, U.S. Select Committee on Aging, No. 95-170, pp. 205–221, December, 1978.
22.
JohnsonT. R.DickinsonK. P., and WestR. W., Older Workers' Responses to Job Displacement and the Assistance Provided by the Employment Service (draft) SRI International, Palo Alto, California, 1982.
23.
Congressional Budget Office, Strategies for Assisting the Unemployed, Washington, D.C., 1982.
24.
StoneA. J. and RixS. E., Employment and Unemployment Issues for Women, Women's Research and Education Institute, Washington, D.C., 1983.
25.
DeutermanW. and BrownS. C., Voluntary Part-Time Workers: A Growing Part of the Labor Force, Monthly Labor Review, 101:6, pp. 3, 7, 9, June 1978.
26.
OwenJ. D., Why Part-Time Workers Tend to Be in Low Wage Jobs, Monthly Labor Review, 101:6, pp. 11–14, June 1978.
27.
NollenS. D.EddyB. B., and MartinV. H., Permanent Part-Time Employment: The Manager's Perspective, Praeger, New York, Ch. 5, 1978.
28.
KahneH., Reconceiving Part-Time Work: New Perspectives for Older Workers and Women, Rowman and Allanheld, Totowa, New Jersey, 1985.
29.
SheppardH. L. and MantovaniR. E., Aging in the Eighties: Part-Time Employment After Retirement, report for the Travelers Insurance Companies by the National Council on the Aging, Inc., p. 3, 1982.
30.
State of California, Health and Welfare Agency, Shared Work Unemployment Insurance Evaluation, Employment Development Department, May 1982.
31.
ClarkR.KrepsJ., and SpenglerJ., Economics of Aging: A Survey, Journal of Economic Literature, 16:3, pp. 919–962, September 1978.
32.
McCarthyM. E. and RosenbergG. S., Work Sharing: Case Studies, W. E. Upjohn Institute, 1981.
