Women and Old Age
Anne Botsford, Linda Breytspraak, Margaret Gentry, Phyllis Greenberg, and Tammy Henderson
Audience: upper level undergraduates/graduates; interdisciplinary
Class prerequisites: one introductory social science course or permission of instructor
Course objectives:
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to introduce and analyze the value of women's care work in the U.S.
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to conduct a policy analysis of the long-term economic consequences of women's unpaid care work
TENTATIVE COURSE OUTLINE
Week 1: Overview
Class 1: Care work by women
Class 2: Factors to consider
who is doing unpaid care work?
what kind of care work do women do?
continuum of care work
other factors: race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, special needs
who do women care for?
Week 2: Giving visibility to care work
Class 1: Public and private domains of care work
Class 2: Private domains
Week 3: Costs of unpaid care work
Class 1: Overview of costs
psychological
social
economic
physical
intimate violence
Class 2: Economic costs of care work
Week 4: Social Security
Class 1: Overview of Social Security for women
Class 2: Introduction to course project
what is a policy analysis?
variables to consider (see handout)
scenarios
Week 5: In-class group work
glossary terms: Care work; Social justice; Invisible labor; Double shift; Public domains of care work; Private domains of care work.
CLASS PROJECT - WOMEN: THE VALUE OF CARE WORK
Project Overview:
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What is the value of unpaid care work (throughout the life course) in the United States?
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Who does care work?
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What do they do (patterns of care work across the life course)?
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What is the cost of care work to women over the life course?
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Overview of social security benefits (reference)
Case Scenarios:
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Select two case scenarios and determine costs of care work
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Set up case scenarios according to your pre-established parameters
Variables
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current marital status; marital history
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race/ethnicity/class
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number/age of children
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profession (own and husband)
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occupation and employment history
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special needs of older woman or care recipients (i.e., children, parents, in-laws, spouse, partner, fictive kin, grandchildren, step-children, etc.)
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age
Determining the Policy Goals
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sustainable living income for older women
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equity vs. adequacy
Create Alternatives/Explore Options
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comparison to status quo
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compute care value
Evaluation Criteria - Assess Alternatives that Differ from the Status Quo using the Following Dimensions:
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financial feasibility
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social justice
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cost effectiveness
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efficiency
Outcomes/Approaches
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debates
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process paper
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presentation
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sequential paper
WEB SITES
Older Women: A Diverse and Growing Population (http://www.aoa.dhhs.gov/factsheets/ow.html) - includes general background on economic security of women with brief discussion of cohort differences
National Center on Women and Aging, Brandeis University (http://www.heller.brandeis.edu/national/ind.html) - describes Center's activities which focus on income security (promoting financial security and reducing poverty in old age), health issues (identifying barriers to preventive health care and combating gender bias in medical research and practice), and caregiving (finding better ways to assist women providing care to family and friends).
Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement (Heinz Family Foundation) (http://www.wiser.heinz.org/) Includes a link to "WISER Special Report: The Effects of Family Caregiving," Winter, 2000, and a Social Security checklist for working women
Older Women's League (http://www.owl-national.org/issues.html) -- includes a number of issue papers, including "Facts about Women and Social Security," "Gender and the Social Security System," and "Gender Bias in the Social Security System."
The MetLife Juggling Act Study: Balancing Caregiving with Work and the Costs Involved -Findings from a National Study by the National Alliance for Caregiving and the National Center on Women and Aging at Brandeis University, November, 1999 (http://www.caregiving.org/content/reports/JugglingStudy.pdf)
BOOKS/ARTICLES
Chalfie, Deborah (1995). The Real Golden Girls: The Prevalence and Policy Treatment of Midlife and Older People Living in Nontraditional Households. Washington, DC: AARP.
Choudry, S. and M. V. Leonesio (1997). "Life-Cycle Aspects of Poverty Among Older Women," ORES Working Paper No. 71, Social Security Administration, April.
Clement, G. (1999). Care, Autonomy and Justice: Feminism and the Ethic of Care. Westview Press.
Coyle, J. (1997). Handbook on Women and Aging. Greenwood Press.
Doress, P. and D. Siegal et al. (eds.) (1994). (The New) Ourselves Growing Older: Women Aging with Knowledge and Power. Boston: Touchstone.
Fuchs, V.R. (1989). "Women's Quest for Economic Equality," Journal of Economic Perspectives.
Gist, Y.J. and V. A. Velkoff (1997). Gender and Aging: Demographic Dimensions. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce, December.
Hesse-Biber, S.J. and G.L. Carter, (1999). Working Women in America: Split Dreams. Oxford Press.
National Academy of Aging (1994). "Blueprint for a National Policy on Older Women." Advisory Panel on Older Women. Mimeo. Syracuse University.
Olsen, T. (1971). Tell Me a Riddle. Delta.
Pearsall, M. (ed.) (1997). The Other Within Us: Feminist Explorations of Women and Aging. Boulder: Westview.
Reimers, C. and M. Honig (1995). "Responses to Social Security by Men and Women: Myopic and Far-Sighted Behavior." The Journal of Human Resources, 31 (2): 360-382.
Sandell, S.H. and H. M. Iams (1996). "Women's Future Social Security Benefits: Why Widows Will Still Be Poor," prepared for the Population Association of America Annual Meetings, New Orleans, LA, May.
Save our Security Coalition (1996). Making Social Security Work Better for Women. Washington, D.C.: Save Our Security Coalition, June.
Smith, J.P. (1989). "Women, Mothers and Work," in M.N. Ozawa. Women's Life Cycle and Economic Well-Being (pp. 42-70). New York: Praeger.
Tronto, J.C. (1993). Moral Boundaries: A Political Argument for an Ethic of Care. Routledge.
U.S. General Accounting Office (1997). Social Security Reform: Implications for the Financial Well-Being of Women. Washington, D.C.: U.S. General Accounting Office, April.
Walker, M.U. (1999). Mother Time: Women, Aging and Ethics. Rowman and Littlefield.
Wallis, V. (1993) Two Old Women: An Alaskan Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival. NY: Harper Collins.
Williamson, J.B. (1997). "Should Women Support Privatization of Social Security?" Challenge, 40 (4): 97-108.
