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

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

Page 2

Figure 1. Racial/ Ethnic Composition of the Female Population Projected for 2050.

Ages 55 years and older, 2011 and 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 

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 

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

Hispanic

3,493,228

Black

4,358,975

Asian

1,738,600

Other

White 671,004

32,921,698 76%

8%

10%

4%

2%

2011 Hispanic

13,219,466 

Asian

5,331,773

White

40,070,039 

Black

8,925,558

Other

1,812,252

58%

19%

13%

8%

2%

2050

Bachelor's Degree

More than Bachelor's

Some College

High School

Less than High school

Women 25-54

Men 25-54

Women 55-64

Men 55-64

Women 65 and older

Men 65 and older

Associate Degree

10 26 18 12 23 11

12 32 17 9 21 10

10 32 18 11 17 12

11 29 18 9 20 14

20 40 15 6 11 8

19 32 15 6 15 14
Fact sheet

Page 3

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*

1 Secretaries and administrative assistants 984,830 7% 75%

2 Registered nurses 605,922 4% 71%

3 Elementary and Middle-School teachers 574,653 4% 79%

4 Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides 377,455 3% 64%

5 Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks 369,829 3% 66%

6 Retail salespersons 357,831 3% 47%

7 Cashiers 299,493 2% 42%

8 Maids and house-keeping cleaners 291,994 2% 52%

9 Personal-care aides 251,893 2% 50%

10 Office clerks, general 251,577 2% 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
Fact sheet

Page 4

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 13.4 12.1

25-54 3.8 4.6 7.2 7.8 7.6 7.1

55-64 3 3.7 6 6.2 6.1 5.6

65 and older 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 17.8 15.7 14.3

25-54 3.7 5 9.2 9.3 8.2 6.9

55-64 3.2 3.8 7.2 8 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
Fact sheet

Page 5

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

0

10

20

30

40

50

Women Men

2007

2010

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
Fact sheet

Page 6

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. 
Endnotes

Page 7

ENDNOTES

1 U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 National Population 

Projections. http://www.census.gov/population/

projections/data/national/2012.html

2 Ibid.

3 Ibid.

4 Ibid.

5 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).

6

 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).

7

 Ibid.

8

 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).

9

 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). 

10 Ibid.

11 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/412166-

older-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).
Endnotes

Page 8

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).

25 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).

26 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.

27 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.

28 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).

29 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.

30 Ibid., page 11.

31 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).