The Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis UniversityNational Program on Women & Aging
Women & Aging Letter
Excerpt - Spring/Summer 2001Older Women and Work
Volume 5, Number 2While American economic prosperity depends on the productivity of all workers, demographics suggest that midlife and older workers will play an increasingly larger role in the workforce. And, given two trends that have dramatically changed the composition of the labor force over the past 30 years -- more women working outside the home while raising children and more women working by preference rather than economic necessity -- the proportion of midlife and older women in the labor force will increase. This issue of the Women & Aging Letter provides information on the current and future labor force status of these women.
Finding Work and Getting TrainedThere are many resources to help midlife and older women look for work or change careers (see below). Information on job search skills, assessment techniques, and support groups is plentiful and is often aimed at older workers.
Whether an older woman is currently employed or looking for work, ingredients essential to her employment success are her attitude toward work and her motivation to be current and competitive.
Age is not a good predictor of who can perform a job successfully. Research indicates that with normal aging, people maintain intelligence and learning abilities into late life. Key, however, is having skills, knowledge, and ability to learn. This means staying current with skills that are valuable on the open employment market.According to Sara Rix, senior policy advisor for AARP: "The key point in virtually all available research is that older adults do master training material, even when it involves complex new tasks and technologies. From a practical (i.e., job-related) perspective, age differences in learning may be trivial, especially if any additional costs associated with longer training are recouped through such cost-effective attributes of older workers as lower absenteeism or accident rates."
Two obstacles create an on-going challenge for older workers: limited employer-provided training for older workers and age discrimination based on well-entrenched views, assumptions, and stereotypes of older workers. And the combination of age with sex discrimination can be particularly difficult for older women. Lawyers expect that demographic and economic trends will ensure that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act will continue to play a significant role in the workplace over the next 30 years and beyond.
Resources for Job Search and TrainingNational Toll-Free Helpline. For workers who need jobs, additional skills, or related workforce information. tel: 877-872-5627
The Service Locator. Information on employment and training services including one-stop career centers, child care providers, and transportation services. www.servicelocator.org
Job Hunting Over 50. Career center with chat page. www.thirdage.com
America's Job Bank. Database of jobs nationwide. Post your resume online. Set up an automated job search. www.ajb.org
Women's Bureau of the U.S. Department of Labor tel: 800-827-5335
America's Learning Exchange. Training and education resources, financial aid options. www.alx.org
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