An inquiry into self-identification with retirement

ABSTRACT

The aim of this qualitative study was to explore patterns in self-identification with being retired using deductive thematic analysis informed by the life course perspective. For this study, a set of women who self-identified as retired (n = 60) were asked to describe their current work status, major career interruptions, and factors that marked their retirement. This study provides important insights into the heterogeneity in women’s retirement including a subset of individuals who self-identified as retired, not based on their own work force transitions but on that of their spouse or peers. Findings highlight the importance of recognizing that the construction of retirement identity can be context driven, varied, and subjective.     

To have or not to have? Australian women’s childbearing desires,expectations and outcomes

Australia’s low fertility rate is commonly attributed to deliberate decisions by women to avoid having children. Existing theoretical explanations of fertility decision-making mostly view childbearing as a rational, voluntary process and focus on the ‘costs’ to women of having children. Although this may help explain why women do not have children, it contributes very little to understanding why women do have children. This study describes childbearing desires, expectations and outcomes in a population-based sample of 569 30–34-years-old Australian women recruited from the Australian Electoral Roll in 2005. Most women surveyed wanted to have children, and their childbearing outcomes were associated with biological, psychological and social factors including the lack of a partner and adverse health conditions. The factors and their relative importance varied by parity. Most women had fewer children than they desired, and many would have children, or more children, if their circumstances were different. These data challenge prevailing assumptions about women’s childbearing behaviour that women are able to choose when and if they have a child. Based on the findings, a conceptual framework of childbearing behaviour is proposed which builds on existing theoretical explanations to explain why women do and do not have children, differences by parity, and the role of circumstances in women’s childbearing behaviour. The findings and conceptual framework have implications for public policies, and indicate that multiple approaches are required which are sensitive to and address the barriers women face in family formation.     

Recruitment strategies for conducting research on women's retirement

Currently, little information is available to inform new or returning researchers about designing and conducting research on the topic of women and retirement. Few published studies describe how to access non-probability samples of retired women, yet preliminary evidence suggests women possess distinctive characteristics that affect their retirement as well as complicate the recruitment process. In this article, certain challenges and benefits of conducting research with women in retirement are presented. Next, important issues to consider prior to sampling retired women are described. Finally, specific strategies for identifying and recruiting community-dwelling retired women are presented and discussed.     

Female labour force participation and second birth rates in South Korea

In recent decades, while female labour force participation rates in South Korea have increased, the country’s total fertility rates have declined dramatically. This study explores the association between women’s labour force participation and second birth rates in South Korea over the period 1980–2006. An event-history analysis is applied to longitudinal data from waves 1–10 of the Korea Labour and Income Panel Study. The study shows that post-birth labour force participation significantly reduced women’s propensity for having a second child, whereas non-employment after first birth was associated with an increased propensity. Women with highly educated husbands had a higher likelihood of enlarging the family. Further, the second birth trend in Korea fluctuated in tandem with the country’s institutional and socio-economic development. The childbearing propensity of homemakers was especially sensitive to the business cycle.     

Recruitment Strategies for Conducting Research on Women's Retirement

ABSTRACT

Currently, little information is available to inform new or returning researchers about designing and conducting research on the topic of women and retirement. Few published studies describe how to access non-probability samples of retired women, yet preliminary evidence suggests women possess distinctive characteristics that affect their retirement as well as complicate the recruitment process. In this article, certain challenges and benefits of conducting research with women in retirement are presented. Next, important issues to consider prior to sampling retired women are described. Finally, specific strategies for identifying and recruiting community-dwelling retired women are presented and discussed.     

Advice from working women with retired partners

ABSTRACT

In the 21st century, as more women are employed full-time and couples increasingly share egalitarian values, more women continue employment after their partners have voluntarily retired. However, we know very little about the experiences of this growing population of women. We asked working women with retired partners to share their advice for other women who may face this developmental transition. Open-ended responses from 97 women were analyzed to identify pertinent issues and themes. Four primary content areas were identified: time management, division of household labor, financial planning, and communication. Communication between partners was both a topic of concern as well as the solution suggested to resolve conflicts or differences that may arise when women live with a retired partner. It is expected that future changes in the workforce and improvements in the gender balance within relationships will continue to impact experiences for working women with retired partners.     

Psychosocial maturity and teenage contraceptive use: An investigation of decision-making and communication skills

The developmental factors influencing teenage women's contraceptive decision-making with first sexual partner are investigated. A discriminant function analysis of results of a study of 17- to 19-year-old women shows the following: Pill users are distinguished from women who have not used any method by having had a longer relationship with their partner, having a more negative attitude towards becoming premaritally pregnant themselves, being older at the time of their sexual debut, engaging in more frequent sexual intercourse, being more trusting of their partner, and perceiving the risks of unprotected pregnancy as greater. Women who are protected by the use of condom are distinguished from women not protected by any method by having had more discussions with male friends about a variety of topics, having better role-taking skills, having a less negative attitude about becoming premaritally pregnant, and having discussed their sexual debut with their partner beforehand. Results are consistent with a conceptualization which distinguishes contraceptive methods on the basis of the psychosocial costs their use incurs for young women.Research supported by Grant #HD09813, National Institute of Child Health & Human Development. Thanks are due to Robin Halliday, Allyson Myhre, and Carolyn Scheve for help in conducing this investigation.     

关于应对人口老龄化危机的经济学思考

从经济学的角度来说 ,应对人口老龄化危机 ,我们不能仅仅在收入的分配和再分配环节上做文章 ,个人账户制度也并非应对人口老龄化危机的良方。政府和社会在通过个人账户制度将人口老龄化风险转移给个人的同时 ,又使自己陷入了另一种风险之中。真正应对的办法只能是努力把生产这块“蛋糕”做大 ,相应的措施即为社会保障基金入市和提高退休年龄     

Women and retirement

A feminist analysis of retirement is presented by questioning the applicability of traditional definitions and theories of retirement to retired women. The effects of marriage, caregiving and other family obligations on women's retirement are examined within the context of salient social, psychological and economic factors. An empowerment-oriented perspective that considers interactions and connections between family and work roles, public and private and personal and political levels are recommended to alleviate the high poverty rates among older women, to promote parity among men and women during retirement and to emancipate women from substantial involvement in unpaid work, specifically, caregiving and home labor.     

Exploring the Relationship Between Employment History and Retired Women's Social Relationships

This study explores the relationship between retired women's employment history and their social integration and social support networks in retirement. Employment history is defined by former occupation (professional, paraprofessional, nonprofessional) and job continuity (discontinuous and continuous). The sample consists of 330 retired women ranging in age from 50 to 83 years, with diverse occupational histories, who were retired an average of 3.5 years. Results indicate occupational status may influence women's social integration, part-time employment, caregiving tasks, and satisfaction with social support. Continuity of employment appears to only marginally influence social integration with no impact on social support or satisfaction with social support.     

子女孩次性别结构与女性再生育——基于孩次性别递进生育率的分析

现有子女的孩次性别结构是影响女性再生育的重要因素。使用中国2000年人口普查数据和时期孩次性别递进生育指标对女性生育水平进行了测算。结果显示,女性普遍生育但终身只生育一个孩子的比例很大,基于孩次性别结构的生育行为体现了男孩偏好;城市和镇在生育第一孩时就存在性别选择;第一个孩子是女孩的女性生育二孩的可能性较大,且二孩是男孩的比例显著大于是女孩的比例;第一个孩子是男孩的城市和镇的女性大部分不再生育,而农村女性有很大比例会生育二孩,但几乎不存在性别选择。采用某地区2019年的数据进行补充验证,同样发现:只有一个女孩的女性相比较只有一个男孩的女性生育者生第二孩的可能性要高很多,以上研究发现对当前二孩生育行为具有一定的启示意义。     

The impact of men's and women's retirement on marital relations: a comparative analysis

The study examined whether men's and women's retirement have a differential impact on several aspects of marital life: Power relations (as reflected in decision-making), spousal resources, division of household tasks, and quality of marriage. Questionnaires were distributed to a sample of 519 pre-retired and retired Israelis. The findings indicate that in general, both men's and women's retirement have a similar impact on marital relations in all of the areas examined. No appreciable change in spousal resources was found after retirement, but there was evidence of change in decision-making patterns about spending time and carrying out feminine and general tasks. Retired respondents of both sexes reported fewer marital complaints than the pre-retired respondents, but also expressed less marital enjoyment. It was also found that men's retirement has a different impact than women's retirement on decisions about house-hold affairs and performance of feminine tasks. In addition, gender-based differences were found in several areas, irrespective of employment status. The women reported higher quality of marriage than did the men, and more resources for strengthening the family, whereas the men perceived themselves as making more decisions in the important areas of life, as more hardy, and as controlling the family's financial resources.     

Socio-demographic Differences in Self-reported Psychological Distress Among 25- to 64-Year-Old Finns

Background Mental health problems are a major public health issue worldwide. The aim of this study was to assess the relative importance of socio-demographic characteristics associated with different domains of psychological distress in Finland. Methods Data source was a nationwide survey “Health Behaviour and Health among the Finnish Adult Population” (AVTK), from years 2002 to 2003 (N = 5425; response rate 66%). Psychological distress was measured by self-reported questions of general mental health (MHI-5), depression, insomnia and stress. Socio-demographic factors included education, employment status, partnership and children living in the household. Main analyses were conducted by multivariate logistic regression. Results Education, employment and partnership were associated with most of the psychological distress outcomes. Respondents with a lower educational level had poor mental health in both genders but less insomnia and stress in men. Those with an intermediate education had the least stress in women. The unemployed and retired were at a higher risk for poor mental health and depression. Moreover, employment status was associated with insomnia and stress in men. Respondents not having a partner showed a higher risk of psychological distress according to all measures. Not having children living in the household was associated with insomnia in women and with less stress in men. Conclusions Socio-demographic factors, such as having a partner and employment status, are associated with several measures of psychological distress indicating the importance of social and economic factors to psychological well-being. The association of education and of having children living at home varies by the domain of psychological distress measure.     

Women and Retirement

SUMMARY

A feminist analysis of retirement is presented by questioning the applicability of traditional definitions and theories of retirement to retired women. The effects of marriage, caregiving and other family obligations on women's retirement are examined within the context of salient social, psychological and economic factors. An empowerment-oriented perspective that considers interactions and connections between family and work roles, public and private and personal and political levels are recommended to alleviate the high poverty rates among older women, to promote parity among men and women during retirement and to emancipate women from substantial involvement in unpaid work, specifically, caregiving and home labor.     

Retired women and volunteering: the good, the bad, and the unrecognized

In this article, we examine varied attitudes and practices toward volunteering in later life, as shared by a group of 40 retired women. We categorize women based on their engagement in retirement and label the categories according to societal expectations as follows: traditional volunteers as "good," nonvolunteers as "bad," and caregiving volunteers as "unrecognized." Using critical gerontology and a feminist framework, we juxtapose the lived experiences of retired women with a prevailing discourse on successful aging and civic engagement. We advocate for societal recognition of caregiving as a valuable form of volunteering, as well as the need to respect multiple ways in which older women experience and find meaning in later life.     

A Comparison of Leisure Patterns and Morale Between Retired Professional and Nonprofessional Women

Differences in levels of post-retirement leisure activity and morale between professional and nonprofessional women were examined. Results showed retired professional women to have significantly higher levels of participation in leisure activities and higher morale than retired nonprofessional women. Differences in leisure patterns in terms of specific activities were also reported. These findings were interpreted as reflecting leisure choice as a function of psychological needs.     

Do Values Matter? The Impact of Work Ethic and Traditional Gender Role Values on Female Labour Market Supply

This article aims to gain a better understanding of the explanatory value of work ethic and traditional gender role values with regard to variation in female labour market supply. Although women’s labour market participation has increased dramatically over the past decades, it still lacks behind that of men. A high female participation rate is desirable for several reasons, for instance to cover rising costs due to the ageing of society. The existing literature has mostly focused on micro-economic and macro factors to explain differences between women in participation rate. However, more recently it has been argued that women’s values may also play an important role in women’s labour market decisions. Work ethic, expressing the moral duty to work in terms of paid employment, is argued to positively affect women’s labour supply. However, it is argued that it can have negative implications too if women who hold more traditional gender role values interpret work and work ethic in terms of housework or in terms of paid employment for men only. This exemplifies the need to study both values at the same time. We used longitudinal Dutch data (LISS panel, 2007–2010) and estimated both cross-sectional and longitudinal models. Both types of models revealed a similar pattern: work ethic is positively associated with women’s labour market participation, but only if we take into account women’s gender role values, which negatively relate to women’s labour market supply.     

Gender Differences Among Older Heroin Users

A group of 110 midlife lesbians filled out several open-ended essay questions on adolescence and midlife. Half the sample described themselves as non-traditional adolescents, e.g., bookish, rebellious or athletic. Approximately half the midlife lesbians had non-traditional dreams in adolescence, that is dreams of careers, adventure and having an impact on the world. Women who labeled themselves as "lesbians" in their teens and twenties were more likely to have been non-traditional adolescents. Women who labeled themselves as "lesbians" in midlife were more traditional as adolescents. The majority of lesbians in this sample were highly educated professional women. The data suggested that adolescent dreams and interests sewed as a source of vitality and creativity for midlife lesbians.     

Creating Retirement Paths: Examples from the Lives of Women

Through in-depth interviews with 40 retired women diverse in age, marital status, ethnicity, income, and occupational background, we explored how women experience retirement. Following our analysis, we identified five retirement pathways: family-focused, service-focused, recreation-focused, employment-focused, and disenchanted retirements. These pathways represent dominant activities and interests at the time the women were interviewed and challenge the cultural portrayal of retirement as an unvarying life stage. The participants' narratives provide a glimpse into the pathways retired women create by revealing the complexity of later life and the changing nature of retirement.