Women experience higher levels of income insecurity than men in almost every stage of life, especially in old age.
Women are more likely than men to work in lower-waged jobs, take up part-time, casual and/or temporary employment, take more time out of work, and have higher financial stress throughout their lifetime.
This leads to lower levels of savings and superannuation when they reach retirement age, which becomes a big problem as women tend to live longer than men and therefore need more income to support themselves as they age.
%
Australia's Full-time Gender pay gap
Source: www.wgea.gov.au
%
Gender pay gap for the 45-54 age group
Source: www.wgea.gov.au
%
Gender superannuation gap
Source: www.wgea.gov.au
%
of 65-69 year old women in 2016 had no superannuation at all
Source: www.wgea.gov.au
Women over the retirement age often either stay at work for longer or go back to work to support themselves.
The older women’s workforce participation rate rose by more than 30% between 1995 and 2013 as the base age to receive the pension increased from 60 to 65.
Despite the benefits that older women’s productivity could bring to the economy, there are many barriers for older women maintaining or seeking work in later life.
Many older women have taken time off work for prolonged periods for caring responsibilities and struggle to find a job that match their skills, experience and availability.
They also experience age discrimination in addition to the sex discrimination that women of all ages already encounter.
Despite having the breadth and depth of experience, many women are not able to secure fulltime work at the same pay rate that they were used to, as employers tend to prefer younger workers.
Financial insecurity is heavily tied with women’s risks of exposure to violence and homelessness.
Any intervention that tries to solve any one of these issues must acknowledge this triangle of jeopardy.
Head over to our Resources section for more information and tools that older women can use to seek financial help or improve financial independence.
Your Two Cents Worth
Baby Boomers’ Guide to Life in the 21st Century Season 2’s finance segment is called “Your Two Cents Worth”. Join Lex Marinos and Patricia Amphlett each week as they investigate all things money, finance, and planning for your future.
The Baby Boomers’ Guide is back for Season 3
Each week, Lex Marinos and Patricia Amphlett bring you great listening and a new segment called Money Extra, a concise, easy-to-understand guide to financial advice in these uncertain times.
Resilience in the Age of COVID: Older Women’s Take on Poverty & The Way Forward
Our webinar, as part of Anti-Poverty Week, was a conversation on what older women have to say about the impact of COVID-19, and what we need to focus on as a country to deal with its fallout. Prior to COVID-19, older women were the fastest growing cohort amongst the homeless and the situation has not improved with the pandemic. Instead, this recession will also hit older women hard. We heard from:
Ronni Kahn, Founder of OzHarvest
Liz McEntyre, Aboriginal Official Visitor, NSW Inspector of Custodial Services
Elaine Paton, Writer/Performer
Beverly Baker, Chair of Older Women’s Network, NSW
Moderated by: Caroline Baum, Writer, Broadcaster & OWN NSW Ambassador
Get Involved
Help promote the rights, dignity & wellbeing of older women.
Older Women’s Network NSW
The Older Women’s Network in NSW believes in a society rich in social capital, where mutual respect and trust are paramount, where diversity and debate are valued and where people and their networks have a legitimate voice.
CONTACT US
Older Women’s Network NSW
8-10 Victoria Street,
Newtown NSW 2042, Australia.
+61 – 2 – 9519 8044
Newsletter
We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we work and live, and we pay our respects to Elders past and present.
We acknowledge the sorrow of the Stolen Generations and the impacts of colonisation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
OWN NSW supports the Uluru Statement from the Heart, the call for a First Nation's Voice enshrined in the Australian Constitution and a Makarrata Commission to oversee agreement-making and truth-telling.