Older Women and Poverty - Justice in Aging (2024)

FAQs

Why are older women one of the poorest groups in society? ›

For many, a lifetime of unpaid, work-interrupting caregiving responsibilities is one cause. Divorce, labor market discrimination, and inequalities built into Social Security and employer pension programs are also frequent factors which leave women worse off as they enter old age.

Under both the official poverty measure and the Supplemental Poverty Measure, the poverty rate among people ages 65 and older was higher among adults ages 80 and older, women, and people self-reporting fair or poor health, based on three-year averages for 2020-2022.

Poverty affects older adults differently than other groups because they are more vulnerable to economic instability when their physical health, cognitive abilities, and social networks decline. Further, older Americans are finding that their pensions are inadequate to meet their basic needs, which include housing.

Women over 65 are more likely to be poor than men, regardless of race, educational background, and marital status. Women age 65 and older are much more likely to be poor than their male counterparts—and older, minority, and unmarried women are at greatest risk.

In popular culture, societal stereotypes often paint a negative image of older women, while giving older men a more positive portrayal. This creates a stark contrast between the experiences of men and women as they age.

Gender-based discrimination and inequalities are exacerbated at older ages, with these inequalities emerging from gendered stereotypes deeply rooted in cultural and social norms. The combination of ageism and sexism has a unique and aggravating effect on discrimination and inequality.

One in six children under five (3 million children) were poor, the highest rate of any age group. Children remain the poorest age group in America, with children of color, children under five, children of single mothers, and children in the South suffering from the highest poverty rates.

Explanation: Health and marital status appear to be associated with greater poverty in old age. A person's health plays a critical role in their ability to work and generate income as they age, and poor health can often result in reduced earning potential and increased medical expenses.

Poor girls are more than twice as likely to marry in childhood as those who are wealthy. They then face potentially life-threatening risks from early pregnancy, and often lose the opportunity of an education and a better income. Their poverty becomes a self-sustaining cycle.

Who gets more government assistance, men or women? ›

The distribution of welfare in the US is a gendered process in which women, especially mothers, are much more likely to receive assistance than men.

These older adults struggle with rising housing and health care bills, inadequate nutrition, lack of access to transportation, diminished savings, and job loss. For older adults who are above the poverty level, one major adverse life event can change today's realities into tomorrow's troubles.

Among the 74 million children living in the United States, 11 million live in poverty. One in six children under five (3 million children) were poor, the highest rate of any age group. The pandemic forced children already in poverty even deeper into poverty.

children. Children are the age group most likely to be poor in the United States. This is because children are dependent on their parents or guardians for financial support, and if their parents or guardians are in poverty, it often affects the children as well.

Women are 80 percent more likely than men to be impoverished at age 65 and older, while women between the ages of 75 to 79 are three times more likely than men to be living in poverty. Widowed women are twice as likely to be living in poverty than their male counterparts.

As shown in Figure 1, women made up a larger share of the older adult population in poverty (65%) than of the older population not in poverty (54%). Different family and work experiences and longer life expectancies may contribute to greater economic challenges for women in their later years.