Older Women Who Work
Older Women Who Work: Resilience, Choice, and Change provides one of the first in-depth examinations of women age 65 and older who have delayed retirement, exploring personal and career identity, social roles, and quality of life concerns.
The fifteenth book in APA’s Division 35 Psychology of Women series, this edited volume presents a rich array of qualitative and quantitative research on older women’s experiences in the workplace. Chapter authors share insights about how organizational leaders can change societal structures to better support the motivations and needs of diverse older women in the workplace.
The book also describes how consultants, educators, and mental health professionals can encourage development of personal grit, to help the growing numbers of older women exercise their right to opportunities and be adaptable in the face of employment challenges.
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I: Personal and Career Identities for Older Women
- From Striving to Thriving: How Facing Adversity Across the Lifespan Can Facilitate Workplace Resilience
Ashley Stripling and Jodie Maccarrone - The Aging Woman Worker in a Lifespan Developmental Context
Valory Mitchell - Shifting Values and Late Course Adjustments in the Careers of Older Women
Lorraine Mangione, Kathi Borden, and Elizabeth Fuss - Work-Related Choice and Identity in Older Women
Nicola Newton and Katherine Ottley - Precarious Work/Life in Retrospective: Still Growing the Pearl
Jackie Goode
Part II: Societal Roles of Aging Women Workers
- The Secret Poor Among Us: Older Women Who Work to Make Ends Meet
Mary Gergen and Ellen Cole - Work-Life Balance and the Older Working Woman
H. Lorraine Radtke and Janneke Van Mens-Verhulst - What, Retire? Not Now—Maybe Not Ever
Patricia O’Connor - “You’re Too Young/Old for This”: The Intersection of Ageism and Sexism in the Workplace
Ruth Walker and Alexandria Zelin
Part III: Diversity and Personal Grit in the Workplace and Beyond
- Appalachian Grit and Older Working Women
Julie Hicks Patrick, Abigail Nehrkorn-Bailey, Michaela S. Clark, and Madeline M. Marello - Missions Continued: Contextualizing Older Women’s Work Pursuits and Passions in Lifelong Journeys
Niva Piran - Use It or Lose It: Older Women and Civic Engagement
Lisa Hollis-Sawyer - Older Immigrant Women Who Work: Building Resilience, Changing Perceptions and Policies
Jasmin Tahmaseb McConatha and Frauke Schnell
Appendix: Employment Resources for Older Women
Index
About the Editors
Ellen Cole, PhD, is professor of psychology at the Sage Colleges where she teaches in the Counseling and Community Psychology graduate program.
She is past-president of the Alaska Psychological Association and APA Division 35 (Society for the Psychology of Women). In 2016 she received Division 35’s Florence L. Denmark Award for Contributions to Women and Aging.
Dr. Cole works on several fronts to change the perception of aging from one that is medically driven to one that focuses on quality of life and celebration.
She lives in Albany, NY. Visit her blog at 70Candles.com.
Lisa Hollis-Sawyer, PhD, coordinates the gerontology program at Northeastern Illinois University and is an associate professor in the psychology department.
In 2014, she received an APA Division 20 (Adult Development and Aging) award on mentoring students in the field of gerontology and, in 2017, she received APA Division 35’s Florence L. Denmark award for her research over three decades on older women’s role transitions and quality of life outcomes.
She is guided in professional life and community service to be an advocate for diverse aging women and older workers’ rights.
Dr. Hollis-Sawyer lives in the Chicago, IL area. Follow her on Twitter: @LHollisSawyer.
Chock-full of practical and academic insights, this accessible work is a must-have for collections of all levels.
—Choice
