Women 55+ Meeting Challenges Head-On and Thriving
Women have met and faced many challenges head-on. They are strong.
Society needs to make changes so women's challenges are alleviated and they can live their best lives with intention, passion, purpose and joy.
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The Wonder of Women 55+ - Preamble
I am amazed by women who have reached the age of fifty-five and beyond. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to interview all those women, hear their life stories, and allow them to describe their challenges and how they handled them? We would feel in awe. And we would learn so much while feeling that we were less alone.
Because I live in Canada, a peaceful, prosperous country, I feel like I am in a cotton-batting bubble. But Canada is founded on immigration and accepts immigrants into our society. We can learn so much from the stories of our ancestors and our new neighbours.
On my mother’s side, my grandmother came from Ireland with her ten brothers and sisters. Their first homes were tents. After that, they built houses nearby - in the same block, showing the resiliency that allowed them to thrive. It was a matriarchal family, and everyone contributed.
My father was born in Czechoslovakia. His father immigrated to Canada first, and my grandmother came later with my father and his older sister. My grandmother showed remarkable resilience as she struggled to adapt to a new country and a new language and faced times of great financial distress in their new country and household. Unfortunately, my grandfather was only sometimes successful in his businesses.
Globally, women have had incredible struggles and still do. We do not even know the depths of their hardships. The UN reported in its statement ahead of the International Day of Older Persons - UN expert praises older women’s resilience in the face of ongoing emergency challenges:
“The cumulative disadvantages of lower labour force participation, the gender pay gap, interrupted employment patterns due to caregiving, and higher prevalence of part-time and informal work means that older women often receive lower or no pensions. Additionally, many older women are excluded from acquiring, accumulating and controlling assets and property over their life course, including due to discriminatory inheritance regimes and practices.
Such disadvantages are exacerbated in crises and emergencies, both due to climate change, conflict or the COVID-19 pandemic, with the multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination intensified during such situations. Older women who might be viewed as a burden become even more vulnerable to abuse and neglect in emergencies.”
How many of us - even those living in developed countries - have faced many of the same issues?
Some Loops for Women 55+
The Women’s UN Report Network published an article titled "Challenges Facing Older Women—The Feminization of Aging." It highlighted two statements.
“Many older women suffer significant health inequities, enjoy fewer human rights, and have less financial security, with fewer savings and assets to support an adequate standard of living in older age.”
“Gender, aging, and poverty are interrelated.”
“This “care burden” is currently one of the most serious restrictions women face globally.”
The Women’s Midlife Health Journal reported The challenges of midlife women: themes from the Seattle midlife Women’s health study. Their report highlighted the following challenges:
Changing family relationships,
Re-balancing work and personal life,
Re-discovering self,
Securing enough resources and
Coping with multiple co-occurring stressors.
Are these issues you are facing?
Let’s Get More Personal
I have experienced all of the above. And so have people I know.
Alice May challenged a threatening illness for over fifteen years before she passed.
Jacquie faced the death of her husband and now manages their family business without him by her side.
Margot experienced the end of her marriage and the death of her parents, as well as the ongoing challenges of her three boys.
Wanda, Pam and Paula share the caregiving of their 92-year-old mother, who still lives in her home.
We all feel the changes in our bodies as we age. And here in Nova Scotia, the health care system is brutal. Almost 13%, or 130,000 people, do not have a family doctor.
Women Are Important To Our Society
That UN statement I cited earlier says this about women:
“ …they often continue to provide intergenerational support and caregiving while contributing to household income. They also play important roles in peacebuilding and conflict resolution as carriers of pre-conflict narratives and experiences of shared living.”
“The intergenerational role of older women, their extraordinary resilience in supporting and caring for others while dealing with economic adversity, is common but often overlooked. Indigenous older women, in particular, are recognized for their important role as knowledge keepers of the Indigenous communities and on natural and environmentally sustainable practices that safeguard ecosystems.”
The Women’s UN Report Network made the following recommendations.”
Ending extreme poverty;
Extending social protection to all;
Ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education;
Promoting sustainable economic growth;
Providing full and productive employment for all;
Making cities and public spaces safe for women and
Promoting peaceful and inclusive societies.
The Seattle Midlife study discussed how women were coping with the challenges in their lives. So much of it is inspiring.
What Are The Ladders?
There is no way to sugarcoat that women have and are and will face many challenges, many of which are gender-related.
The Canadian Centre for Elder Law in British Columbia published an extensive guide to help community groups engage older women in their communities. Krista James and Raissa Lea Dickinson wrote: "New tool release—Engaging Older Women in your Community: A Promising Practices Guide for Women’s and Senior Serving Organizations. " Women must stay connected to other people and their communities.
Help Guide - a nonprofit organization - created a guide called Aging Well that is chock full of suggestions for healthy aging. They give facts to refute common myths of aging. They also provide many examples to flesh out the following tips:
Learn to cope with change.
Find meaning and joy.
Stay connected.
Get active and boost vitality.
Keep your mind sharp.
Please check out this guide to start finding ways to support yourself or someone you know in leading a more intentional, purposeful, active, joyful, and fun life.
A Follow-Up
I am doing well. I am enjoying my new community. I am staying active and meeting new people. I am creating and working on my blogs and this website, Loop See Ladder.
Alice May lived an active life even though she faced many challenges. She loved gardening, was involved in her community, and was an excellent support and teacher for me.
Jacquie thrives, even when confronted with carrying out the tasks her husband used to do. She continues with her indomitable spirit.
I have lost touch with Margot, but knowing her energy and drive, I believe she is nurturing the two businesses she has created.
Wanda, Paula, and Pam ensure their mother is well taken care of with the humour and support they give one another.
A Challenge For You:
Pick one challenge you are facing right now.
Find three ways to support yourself in this challenge. They could be new to you or help you have used before but need bolstering.
Make specific plans to use those supports and carry through with those plans.
Celebrate your victories.
You are amazing!
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