Get the Facts on Women and Aging

Aging poses new challenges for women.  This fact sheet from the National Council on Aging (NCOA) reports on recent studies of how women experience aging and ageism in retirement, in health care, and as caregivers ourselves.

Women and Health Care:
Almost one in five women don’t have a healthcare provider, and ten percent of women don’t see a doctor because of the costs. This is especially the case for Hispanic and American Indian/Alaska Native women.

Women may also face discrimination in health care. Around fifty percent of older Black women see racial/ethnic discrimination in the health care system, and over fifty percent of women shared that gender discrimination is a serious problem.

Sexism and patriarchy shape the medical treatment that women receive. Medical research excludes women by assuming the average patient is a white man. Furthermore, women are often excluded from clinical trials, despite a mandate from Congress to include them.

Work and Retirement:
Caregiving responsibilities affect women’s work. Twenty-five percent of women aged 55 and older do some sort of unpaid caregiving work every day. Caregiving reduces women’s ability to work full time. They may have to reduce their hours or stop working for pay altogether.

In research conducted by NCOA, around one-third of all women shared that their retirement income or savings will not be sufficient to pay their monthly bills. This is a concern for low-income women especially. Additionally, fifty percent of women are not confident in their ability to plan for retirement.

According to research conducted by NCOA, roughly one-third of all women and half (49%) of low-income women say their retirement income or savings will not be enough to pay their monthly bills.

SOURCE: National Council on Aging • LAST UPDATED: August 15, 2024