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Older Women and Work
The majority of older people in the United States, defined
here as people 55 years old and older, are women (54
percent), and women outnumber men in this age group
by 6.7 million. During the last three decades, the labor
force participation of older women has grown rapidly and
is projected to continue growing for the next 20 years. This
fact sheet summarizes the data and research on older
women that address the following questions: How does
the educational attainment of older and younger women
compare? In what occupations do older women work?
What, if any, barriers to work do they face? What work
supports do they need?

Demographic Changes
The average age of the U.S. population has been gradually
increasing due to the aging of baby boomers, falling birth
rates, and improved health and longevity.1 This trend is
expected to continue until 2050. Between 2011 and 2050,
the number of women who are 55 years of age and older
is projected to grow by more than 26 million, with women
continuing to outnumber men.2 The gender imbalance
grows more markedly as the population ages,3 making
retirement security a growing concern for women.
During the coming decades, the racial/ethnic composition
of the older population is expected to change significantly.
The size of each population group in absolute terms is
expected to increase, but because growth is expected at
different rates, the percentage of women of color in the
older female population will increase substantially. The
number of Hispanic women who are 55 years old and older
is expected to almost quadruple between 2011 and 2050.
During this same timeframe, the number of Asian women is
projected to triple, the number of Black women to double,
and the number of White women is projected to increase by
a fifth (Figure 1).4

While the labor force participation rate of men ages 55
and older will continue to exceed that of women during the
current decade, most of the increases in the labor force
participation of the population ages 55 and older will come
from women.5 Among 55- to 64-year-olds, women’s rate
of labor force participation increased from 41.3 percent in
1980 to 59.4 percent in 2012, and is expected to reach 66.6
percent by 2020. The labor force participation of males
between 55- to 64- years of age decreased from 72.1
percent in 1980 to 69.9 percent in 2012, and is expected
to rise to 71.1 percent in 2020.6 Increases in labor force
participation are expected to be even steeper for those
ages 65 years and older. For women, the rate was 8.1
percent in 1980, 14.4 percent in 2012, and is expected to
be 19.2 percent in 2020; for men, the rate was 19.0 percent
in 1980, 23.6 percent in 2012, and is expected to be 26.7
percent in 2020.7

Older Women and Work

How does the educational attainment of
older and younger women compare? In
what occupations do older women work?
What, if any, barriers to work do they face?
What work supports do they need?

Fact sheet
2011

Hispanic
3,493,228
Black
4,358,975

White
32,921,698

Hispanic
13,219,466

10%

2050

19%

Asian

4% 1,738,600
2% Other

13%

58%

White
40,070,039

671,004

76%

Black
8,925,558

8%
2%

Asian
5,331,773

Other
1,812,252

Figure 1. Racial/ Ethnic Composition of the Female Population
Ages 55 years and older, 2011 and 2050.

Projected for 2050.

Notes: All races are defined as exclusive: White alone, not
Hispanic; Black alone, not Hispanic; and Asian alone, not
Hispanic. Women of Hispanic ethnicity may be of any race.
“Other” includes all categories not otherwise shown, such as

American Indians and Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians and
other Pacific Islanders, and persons of two or more races.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 American Community
Survey and 2012 National Population Projections.8

Older Women’s Educational Attainment
Women ages 55 to 64 are as likely as women ages
25 to 54 to have advanced college degrees, associate
degrees, or, at the other end of the spectrum, not to have
finished high school. They are less likely than women
in the younger age group to have a four-year college
degree (Figure 2).9 Differences in educational attainment,
however, are quite different for women ages 65 years and
older, both compared to younger women and to men 25
years and older. In 2011, one in five women falling into the

Women 25-54

Men 25-54

Women 55-64

Men 55-64

18
32

65 years and older bracket had not finished high school,
and four of 10 (40 percent) had a high school diploma as
their highest educational attainment.10 Low educational
attainment is likely to limit the earning opportunities of
some women in this age group. Given women’s rising
educational attainment, this is likely to be less of an
issue in future years, although, as shown in Figure 2,
a substantial percentage of younger women also lack
educational qualifications beyond high school.11

Less than High school
High School

Women 65 and older

Men 65 and older

40
32

17
20

15
15

6
15

Some College

14
11

Associate Degree
Bachelor's Degree

Figure 2. The Distribution of
the Population by Highest
Educational Attainment,
Gender and Age (in Percent),
2011.
Source: U.S. Census
Bureau, Current Population
Survey, Annual Social and
Economic Supplement.12

More than Bachelor's

Page 2

Fact sheet
Older Women’s Employment
In 2011, a third (32 percent) of women ages 55 and older
worked in 10 occupations (Table 1).13 These occupations
include higher-paying jobs requiring a college degree,
such as registered nurses and teachers. They also include
mid-level jobs, such as secretaries, bookkeeping, and
accounting clerks. Lower-paying occupations, such
as nursing, psychiatric and home health aides, retail
salespersons, cashiers, maids and cleaners, and personal

care aides. The list of most common occupations of older
women differs little from that for all women.14 However,
with the exception of retail salesperson, none of the top 10
most common occupations of older women are also among
the top 10 most common occupations of older men (data
not shown).15 Research suggests that older workers are as
likely as younger workers to work in occupations projected
to grow.16

Table 1. The Ten Most Common Occupations for Women Ages 55 and Older, 2011.

Occupation

Number of Women
Workers Ages 55+

Percent of All Women
Workers Ages 55+

Percent of Women
Workers Ages 55+
Working Full-time*

Secretaries and administrative assistants

984,830

75%

Registered nurses

605,922

71%

Elementary and Middle-School teachers

574,653

79%

Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides

377,455

64%

Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks

369,829

66%

Retail salespersons

357,831

47%

Cashiers

299,493

42%

Maids and house-keeping cleaners

291,994

52%

Personal-care aides

251,893

50%

Office clerks, general

251,577

68%

Note: *Full-time: working at least 35 hours per week.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 American Community Survey.17

In 2012, seventy-one percent of working women ages
55 years and older worked full-time. Yet women in this
age group were more likely to work part-time than all
women (29 percent compared to 26 percent). Part-time
employment was highest among older White women (30
percent) and lowest for older Black and Asian women (22

and 23 percent respectively).18 Part-time employment is
highest in the least skilled occupations (Table 1). Part-time
jobs are much less likely than full-time jobs to offer benefits,
such as paid sick leave, retirement plans, or health
insurance.19

Page 3

Fact sheet
Older Women and Health
Forty-seven percent of older workers retire earlier than
planned. Fifty-five percent of those who retire early do so
due to a health problem or disability.20 By age 55, 15 to 25
percent of workers report reduced ability to work (data not
published separately for women and men).21 Although age
is not a good predictor of the health and well-being of any
one individual, most older people tend to experience higher
rates of chronic illnesses and disability than do younger
people. In 2007, 19 percent of Americans ages 55 to 64
were in poor health, as were 22 percent of those ages 65 to
74.22

Due to the large numbers of women working in
administrative and clerical occupations, they are less
exposed to physically hazardous working conditions than
are most men. However, several occupations that are
mostly held by women can involve physically strenuous
work, including heavy lifting, prolonged standing, and
working in cramped spaces. Such physically demanding
occupations include nursing and psychiatric care aides,
cleaners, cashiers, retail salespersons, and personal care
aides.23 Physically strenuous work is also a good predictor
of poor health among workers.

Unemployment
The rate of unemployment doubled for older women
between 2007, the year in which the Great Recession
began, and 2011, from 3 to 6.1 percent for women ages
55 to 64, and from 3.1 to 6.5 percent for women ages 65
years and older. While unemployment fell slightly in 2012,
it continued to be substantially higher than before the
Great Recession (Table 2).24
Older individuals tend to be less likely than younger
individuals to be unemployed; however, once an older
person becomes unemployed, they usually have

greater difficulty than do younger people in finding new
employment. When older individuals find new employment,
it often pays lower wages and has less desirable working
conditions than provided in their previous position.25 The
number of older persons who are unemployed for more
than six months is substantially higher than those who are
younger and unemployed for more than six months. The
average unemployment duration is substantially longer for
older job seekers, as compared to younger job seekers
(53.8 weeks in 2012 for women ages 55 years and older
compared to 41.4 weeks for women ages 25 to 54 years26).

Table 2. The Rate of Unemployment by Age and Gender, 2007 to 2012 (in Percent).
Women

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

20-24

7.3

8.8

12.3

13.4

12.1

25-54

3.8

4.6

7.2

7.8

7.6

7.1

3.7

6.2

6.1

5.6

65 and older

55-64

3.1

3.9

6.1

6.2

6.5

6.3

All Women

4.5

5.4

8.1

8.6

8.5

7.9

Men

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

20-24

8.9

11.4

17.8

15.7

14.3

25-54

3.7

9.2

9.3

8.2

6.9

55-64

3.2

3.8

7.2

7.1

6.3

65 and older

3.4

4.5

6.7

7.1

6.5

6.2

All Men

4.7

6.1

10.3

10.5

9.4

8.2

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.27

Page 4

Fact sheet
Retirement Security
Many older Americans are reliant on Social Security
earnings in retirement (retirees in the bottom fifth of the
income distribution rely on Social Security for 84.3 percent
of their income).28 Without Social Security income, 15.3
million people age 65 and over would have fallen below the
poverty line in 2012, close to quadrupling the number of
elderly in poverty.29 However, women are more likely than
men to leave and re-enter the workforce, leaving them with
significantly less Social Security income since periods of
non-work are not credited to individuals’ Social Security
accounts. Moreover, because of the wage gap (based
on analysis of median annual earnings, women working
full-time, year-round earn approximately 77 cents for every
dollar earned by men30), women have less money to save
for retirement throughout their lifetimes.31
The recent Great Recession has diminished the retirement
savings of many Americans, leading some workers to delay
retirement and others to return to the labor market from
retirement or from economic inactivity.33 Women are more
likely than men to report not having sufficient savings for
retirement (Figure 3).34

40
2007

2010

0
Women

Men

Figure 3. Decline in Those Saying They Are Saving Enough for
Retirement, 2007-2010 (People Not Yet Retired, in Percent).
Note: Bars show percent responding that they believe they are
saving enough for retirement.
Source: Institute for Women’s Policy Research/Rockefeller Survey
of Economic Security.32

Page 5

Fact sheet
Supports for Older Women and Work
Access to targeted training, ergonomically designed jobs,
workplace flexibility, and the tackling of age discrimination
are likely to enhance older women’s access to high-quality
jobs with self-sufficiency wages and benefits, and their
capacity to make provisions for an economically secure
retirement when they leave the labor force.
Access to targeted training programs for older women
who lose their jobs or are returning to the labor force is
key.35 Research by organizations such as the Council for
Adult Education and Learning highlights good practices in
training programs which recognize age-related differences
in learning styles and build up the confidence of women
who may have been out of the labor force and formal
education for a number of years.
Ergonomic interventions and redesign of work processes
can improve the health of all workers, as well as make work
more feasible for older adults. Many older women and men
prefer gradual (phased) retirement. Some pension plans
allow employees to scale back from full-time to part-time

work and receive partial retirement benefits; this is not the
norm, however, and the rules of many pension plans and
Social Security regulations effectively penalize or prevent
workers from following such gradual retirement options. For
their own health and well-being and because of unpaid care
responsibilities for elderly parents or a spouse in need of
help, older women are also likely to benefit from workplace
flexibility. The AARP Best Employers for Workers over 50
and Sloan When Work Works Awards show the potential
for win-win workplace flexibility, yet in many workplaces
access to meaningful flexibility remains elusive.
Last but not least, older women need a workplace free
of age discrimination. The U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission is responsible for enforcing the Age
Discrimination in Employment Act [ADEA]. The ADEA makes
it illegal to discriminate against anyone who is 40 years old
and older. Claims of age discrimination have risen rapidly in
recent years.36 Pro-active enforcement of anti-discrimination
laws and education of employers will help older women to
stay employed and enhance their economic security.

Page 6

Endnotes
ENDNOTES
1

2
3
4
5

7
8

U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 National Population
Projections. http://www.census.gov/population/
projections/data/national/2012.html
Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Mitra Toossi, “Labor Force Projections to 2020: A More
Slowly Growing Workforce.” U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics, Monthly Labor Review, January 2012: pp.
43-64 http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2012/01/art3full.pdf
(accessed September 3, 2013).
Data for 1980 from Howard N. Fullerton, Jr. and Mitra
Toossi. “Labor Force Projections to 2010: Steady Growth
and Changing Composition.” U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics (BLS), Monthly Labor Review, November
2001, pp. 21-38, http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2001/11/
art2full.pdf; 2012 data from BLS, Current Population
Survey, 2013. Table 3, Employment status of the civilian
noninstitutional population by age, sex, and race;
http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat03.htm; 2020 data from
Mitra Toossi, “Labor Force Projections to 2020: A More
Slowly Growing Workforce.” BLS, Monthly Labor Review
January 2012: pp. 43-64. http://www.bls.gov/opub/
mlr/2012/01/art3full.pdf (all accessed September 3,
2013).
Ibid.
Institute for Women’s Policy Research analysis based
on 2011 American Community Survey data provided by
Ruggles, Steven J., Trent Alexander, Katie Genadek,
Ronald Goeken, Matthew B. Schroeder, and Matthew
Sobek. 2010. Integrated Public Use Microdata Series:
Version 5.0 [Machine-readable database]. Minneapolis:
University of Minnesota; and on 2050 projections as
provided by U.S. Census Bureau. 2012. “NP2012_D1:
Projected Population by Single Year of Age, Sex, Race,
and Hispanic Origin for the United States: 2012 to
2060” 2012 National Population Projections http://www.
census.gov/population/projections/data/national/2012/
downloadablefiles.html (accessed September 2, 2013).
U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual
Social and Economic Supplement, 2012. “Educational
Attainment in the United States: Table 1. Educational
Attainment of the Population 18 Years and Over, by
Age, Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 2011.” http://www.
census.gov/hhes/socdemo/education/data/cps/2011/
tables.html (accessed October 10, 2012).

Ibid.
Ibid.
12
Ibid.
13
Institute for Women’s Policy Research analysis based
on 2011 American Community Survey data provided by
Ruggles, Steven J., Trent Alexander, Katie Genadek,
Ronald Goeken, Matthew B. Schroeder, and Matthew
Sobek. 2010. Integrated Public Use Microdata Series:
Version 5.0 [Machine-readable database]. Minneapolis:
University of Minnesota
14
Ibid.
15
Ibid.
16
Geri Adler and Don Hilber. 2008. “Will the Types of Jobs
Being Created Enable Older Workers to Keep Working?”
Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health (23:1/2) 71-87.
17
Ibid.
18
IWPR calculations based on U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics, Current Population Survey, 2013. Table 8,
Employed and unemployed full- and part-time workers
by age, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 2012.
http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat08.htm (accessed October
28, 2013)
19
Society for Human Resource Management 2011.
Employee Benefits: A Research Report by the Society
for Human Resource Management http://www.shrm.org/
Research/SurveyFindings/Articles/Documents/2011_
Emp_Benefits_Report.pdf (accessed December 17,
2011).
20
Employee Benefit Research Institute (2013). 2013
Retirement Confidence Survey. “2013 RCS Fact Sheet
#2, Changing Expectations about Retirement” http://
www.ebri.org/files/Final-FS.RCS-13.FS_2.Expects.
FINAL.pdf (accessed September 30, 2013)
21
Ilmarinen, J.Tuomi K, Klockars M. Changes in the work
ability of active employees over an 11-year period.
Scandinavian Journal of Work Environment and Health
1997;23 (suppl 1):49–57.
22
Richard W. Johnson. 2010. Older Workers: Opportunities
and Challenges Fact sheet; Washington DC: Urban
Institute http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/412166older-workers.pdf (accessed August 28, 2013).
23
Rho, Hye Jin. 2010. Hard Work? Patterns in Physically
Demanding Labor Among Older Workers. Washington,
DC: Center for Economic Policy Research. http://www.
cepr.net/documents/publications/older-workers-2010-08.
pdf (accessed October 16, 2012).
10
11

Page 7

Endnotes
24

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population
Survey, 2013. Table 31, Unemployed persons by age,
sex, race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, marital status,
and duration of unemployment. http://www.bls.gov/cps/
cpsaat31.htm (accessed August. 27, 2013).
U.S. Government Accountability Office. 2012.
Unemployed Older Workers: Many Experience
Challenges Regaining Employment and Face Reduced
Retirement Security. GAO Report to the Chairman,
Committee on Aging, U.S. Senate. http://www.gao.gov/
assets/600/590408.pdf (accessed December 3, 2012).
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population
Survey. Unpublished table 31, Unemployed persons by
duration of unemployment, age, sex, race, and Hispanic
or Latino ethnicity, annual averages 2012. Available
on request from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, contact
information at http://www.bls.gov/cps/contact.htm.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population
Survey. Table 3, Employment status of the civilian
noninstitutional population by age, sex, and race, various
years; http://www.bls.gov/cps/tables.htm.
Social Security Administration, Office of Retirement and
Disability Policy. 2012. Income of the Aged: Chartbook,
2010. http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/chartbooks/
income_aged/2010/iac10.pdf (accessed August 28,
2013).
U.S. Census Bureau (2013). Income, Poverty, and
Health Insurance in the United States: 2012, page 21.
http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/p60-245.pdf.

Ibid., page 11.
Jocelyn Fischer and Jeff Hayes. 2013. “The Importance
of Social Security in the Incomes of Older Americans:
Differences by Gender, Age, Race/Ethnicity, and Marital
Status.” IWPR Briefing Paper; Washington, DC: Institute
for Women’s Policy Research.
32
Cynthia Hess, Jeff Hayes, and Heidi Hartmann. 2011.
Retirement on the Edge. Women, Men, and Economic
Insecurity After the Great Recession. Washington, DC:
Institute for Women’s Policy Research.
33
AARP Public Policy Institute. 2012. Boomers and the
Great Recession: Struggling to Recover. http://www.aarp.
org/work/job-hunting/info-09-2012/boomers-and-thegreat-recession-struggling-to-recover-AARP-ppi-econsec.html (accessed March 7, 2013).
34
Cynthia Hess, Jeff Hayes, and Heidi Hartmann. 2011.
Retirement on the Edge. Women, Men, and Economic
Insecurity After the Great Recession. Washington, DC:
Institute for Women’s Policy Research.
35
U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training
Administration. 2010. Unique Training Requirements
of Low-Income, Older Workers: A Resource Guide for
SCSEP Practitioners http://www.doleta.gov/seniors/html_
docs/docs/unique1.cfm (accessed August 28, 2013).
36
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
“Charge Statistics FY 1997 through FY 2012.” http://
www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/enforcement/charges.cfm
(accessed September 30, 2013).
30
31

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