Boomer Women to Live in Poverty
I just completed a Masters Degree assignment on paternity leave and the figures I found regarding the significant number of women who can expect to live in poverty in retirement (in relation to men)in Australia is very dramatic. This is therefore a very important issue for baby boomers. I don’t want to bore you with my whole assignment just the following small section. Happy to send the whole deal if you are interested.
I too am a Baby Boomer and although I am lucky in many ways because I work, have a supportive partner and siblings who take on my role with the care of my mother, I look around me and see my sisters and baby boomer women friends struggling. What concerns me more however is that I can also see that these people dear to me will struggle even more as they get older.
Many women in my age brackethave the double barrel carer’s role. We still have young children and we also have parents who need our care and attention. Many also do this without the support of a partner. And...... we have to work. Australian economists (this is also true of Europe and USA)argue that Australia’s prosperity depends on greater participation of women in the workforce. The government as therefore adopted a ‘tough love’ approach topush more women out in the workforce yet employers are still reluctant to hire us. If we don’t or cannot because of either our carers role (of which are large proportion are women), ill health or no-one wants to employ us,we live in poverty! The lack of savings women have in their retirement and the lack of superannuation they have due to their carer’s role throughout their life means that many women in Australia will have a greater financial burden in their retirement.
Sorry it is not good news! However there is a little! The recentintroduction of Paid paternity leave in Australia will help women and men to be there for their newborn and this is a great achievement thanks to advocates of PPL in Australia who talk on this battle for many years. More needs to be done however. There needs to be a rethink of more flexible work conditions in the workplace for both men and women who have caring responsibilities and a re-look at superannuation for both part-time & casual workers(who are largely women) and for those on the pension. The role of Carers in our society also needs to be looked at....not just in terms of what support Carers need now but also what support they will need in their own retirement. See below for the data!!! The governments own economic forecasting on women’s participation in the workforce is very interesting reading.
Helen O’Sullivan
Women, Poverty and Social Justice
Feminist’s argue that it is gender culture which has reduced women’s economic and political power in society and it is this inequity which is often reflected in social policy (Williams, 2000, Probert, 2002; Grace, 2003). There is significant evidence to support the feminists claim that women have been disadvantaged economically. A study in 2009 by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) into Women and Superannuation highlighted significant concerns about the gender gap in poverty levels in Australia. In Australia, women earn less and have to survive on much less in their retirement. Table 3 shows the significant differences between the average weekly disposable income of men and women in retirement and Table 4 highlights the significant differences between the estimated superannuation balances of men and women in all ages’ groups. What is clear from the data is that women are at greater risk of poverty than men especially in their retirement.
Table 3. Average incomes by age groups and gender breakdown in Australia in 2006
Age Group / Average weekly disposable incomeMen / Women / Gender Gap (Women/Men ratio)
55-64 / $507 / $306 / 0.60
65-74 / $423 / $321 / 0.76
75-84 / $366 / $301 / 0.82
85+ / $434 / $328 / 0.76
All / $430 / $312 / 0.73
Table 4. Estimated superannuation balances by age in Australia in 2006
Estimated superannuation balances by age, Australia, 2006[[i]]Age group / Males / Females / Persons / Female/Male Proportion
25-34 / $19 780 / $14 060 / $16 920 / 71.1%
35-44 / $46 890 / $25 580 / $36 150 / 54.6%
45-54 / $93 920 / $48 250 / $70 820 / 51.4%
55-59 / $126 090 / $58 760 / $92 460 / 46.6%
60-64 / $135 810 / $62 600 / $99,430 / 46.1%
All ages / $69 050 / $35 520 / $52 200 / 51.4%
Source of Data for Table 3 and Table 4: HREOC (2009).
The HREOC (2009) report highlighted that many more women than men in Australia will live in poverty in their retirement due to the patterns of work required to accommodate their role as ‘carer’. Women are more likely than men to ‘put their career on hold’ to provide care after a child is born or to care for elderly parents or disabled family members. And it is women, more than men, who are more likely to return to work on a part-time basis to meet the ‘carer’ needs of the family. As a result of these life cycle choices and due to the high divorce rate, death of a partner or a choice to live life without a partner, a significant proportion of women are expected to end up in retirement with inadequate or no superannuation (HREOC, 2009).
The issue of poverty is greater for women having children in blue collar work who are in greater need of support yet endure tougher and less flexible conditions. Those is lower income jobs are less likely to have PPL provisions and experience much greater difficulty in accessing flexible workplace arrangements after the birth of their child (Baird, 2008; Parke 2010). The ABS 2006 figures show that only around 24 per cent of women on very low wages (less than $500 per week) had access to paid maternity leave, compared with around 84 per cent for those on high wages (over $1200 per week). During the Howard Government Workplace Agreements resulted in even reduced access to PPL. The Howard Government took the position that workplaces and not government should decide on the provision, or not, of PPL. Parke (2010) found that PPL in Agreements fell from approximately 10 per cent in 1998-99 to 7 per cent in 2000 -01. The arguments that PPL is vital to help rectify the current gender inequities and reduce the poverty levels of women in Australian society is well supported by the current data which demonstrates that women, much more than men, are at risk of living in poverty, not only during child-bearing years, but also in retirement.
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