Older women face many challenges

    For many older women in Rhode Island, the biggest challenge to a decent quality of life is economic security. If they are still working, and many are, their average wages are only 58 percent of men’s. If they are retired, their average Social Security benefit is 30 percent less than men of similar age. That gap is the inevitable result of having worked during a time when women faced widespread discrimination in employment opportunities.
    Women were systematically excluded from many well-paying professions such as law, medicine and engineering. Professional women often faced “glass ceilings” in their careers. Perhaps most significantly, women’s unpaid work in care giving for children and others typically reduced their years in the work force.
    The Senior Agenda Coalition of Rhode Island recently received grants from the Women’s Fund of Rhode Island and the MetLife Foundation to shift that situation from a private problem endured by many women to a public issue that must be addressed. Through Gaining Resources for Older Women (GROW), we will bring the plight of older women to the attention of the Rhode Island community. The project’s goal is to mobilize support, particularly among women, for meaningful policy and program changes to address the problem. Maigret will serve as project leader and will make presentations to women’s groups and other civic organizations around the state. She launched the project with a well-attended workshop on older women in Rhode Island at the coalition’s recent Senior Conference and Expo.
    In conjunction with the public education campaign, the coalition will establish a work group to help develop outreach activities; give technical assistance and policy analysis; and provide leadership.  We will seek to reach out and collaborate with a wide spectrum of interested groups and individuals.
    Our ultimate goal is to achieve concrete, practical results that improve the economic status of older women. Examples of what could be achieved in the near future include: increased targeted outreach by state agencies that provides more older women with benefits such as food and energy assistance; and modified policies that would allow older women that are property owners to retain more assets necessary for home maintenance and still qualify for Medicaid long-term care.
    Over the longer term, policy research and advocacy could lead to changes in divorce laws, pension provisions for widows and other policies that have profound effects on the economic security of older women.
    We invite individuals and organizations who want to join the GROW project, to call (401) 952-6527 or e-mail to senioragendari@yahoo.com.

    William F. Flynn Jr. is executive director of the Senior Agenda Coalition. Contact him at senioragendari@yahoo.com or (401) 274-6900, extension 205.