Poverty and economic insecurity present a unique hardship for senior women, particularly when combined with the many overlapping challenges of aging: chronic disease, loss of mobility, declining health, loss of a spouse and other friends, ageism, and vulnerability to abuse and neglect. Given that Canada’s population is aging, the gaps in our system of public supports for seniors directly affect ever-widening circles of people.
Age and gender are only two of many intersecting factors—such as race, living arrangements, education and employment, disability, sexual identity and immigrant status—that affect economic security. It is the intersections of these experiences and identities that reveal the challenges that different groups of senior women face and what’s needed by way of solutions that meet their unique needs.
