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Summary
Summary
This exploratory volume alerts the policy community to the impact on women of the aging of the U.S. population and the significance of that impact for the future of social policy in America. By 2030, more than 1 in 5 Americans will be age 65 or older. Women are "on the front lines" of the aging trend not only because they make up a majority of the elderly but because they are the main providers of care, paid and unpaid, to growing numbers of frail and disabled very-elderly persons. However, the interaction of the aging trend with women's changing social and economic status in the U.S. is by no means exclusively a women's issue. It affects families and corporations; men, women, and children; the young, the middle-aged, and the old; and is a central factor in such immediate policy controversies as national health insurance, family and medical leave, and Social Security reform. The multidisciplinary essays in this collection were commissioned by the Southport Institute for Policy Analysis through its Project on Women and Population Aging. Contributors include the volume editors and demographer Cynthia Taeuber; sociologists Paula Rayman and Ruth Jacobs; economist Julianne Malveaux; health policy experts Robert J. Blendon, Jo-Ann Lamphere-Thorpe, and Marianne C. Fahs; and public policy consultants Jack Brizius and Susan Foster.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Less prescriptive than descriptive, this scholarly survey of the problems women face because of the ``inexorable aging of our population'' presents a sobering picture. From a variety of perspectives the contributing authors to this volume (which arose from a project of the Southport Institute for Policy Analysis in Connecticut) explore such topics as medical care, employment, social roles and status, focusing on diverse socioeconomic groups of aging women. In the U.S., the authors point out, women make up nearly half of the work force, but they also make up the great majority of those involved in unpaid care-giving. This is one among the many complex issues analyzed in chapters whose aim is to provoke new thinking about social norms and provide a base for crtical policy questions and decisions. Allen directs the Southport Institute's Project on Women, and Pifer is the founder and chair of the institute. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
Women's rights groups, health care professionals, senior citizen organizations, politicians, and students preparing papers on women or senior citizens will all find this work--a report produced by the Project on Women and Population Aging, sponsored by the Southport Institute for Policy Analysis--to be a useful resource. Demographics given show the rising percentage of the population of the U.S. that is not only within the senior citizen age bracket but over 75 years and even over 85 years of age. A far greater percentage of these seniors are women than men, yet women are more likely to require chronic long-term health care and less likely to have adequate economic resources. This book raises important questions, analyzes solutions to problems, cites statistics to support the issues of concern, and suggests policy directions for government and health care agencies. Public libraries will find this material to be a helpful research tool. ~--Maurine Hoffmann
Choice Review
This timely collection treats the implications for women of the aging of the US population. Each chapter is readable, research based, and policy oriented, and is written by an expert who grounds the discussion in facts and concludes with practical considerations for women in the 21st century. Many topics are covered: demographics, health status, barriers to preventive health care, race and ethnic differences, the role of caregiving to elders, poverty status, and expanding the social roles for older women who have been "sidelined by society." The volume takes facts, issues, and values that have been dogging the country for decades--e.g., gender differences in life expectancy, extension of years with chronic illness, increasing years lived as widows--and synthesizes and presents them in clear, readable terms, always focusing on the long-term effects of today's policies. Excellent set of up-to-date references at the end of each chapter. Recommended. All levels. D. P. Slesinger; University of WisconsinDSMadison
Library Journal Review
This book, based on research by the Urban Institute and sponsorship by the Southport Institute for Policy Analysis, explores the consequences of population aging as it affects individual women and society at large. It also strives to increase awareness of the need for a rational response in the creation of new attitudes, policies, and practices. Demographics, future projections, social variables (race, socioeconomic status, gender inequities), social roles, health, and care-giving are all examined within the context of aging and its implication as a life cycle issue. Chapters discuss prevention, choice, and equity issues; research results and implications are reported in a straightforward, easy-to-read manner with pertinent bibliographies following each chapter. Tables and figures lend credence and explanation for the research. For gerontology and demographic collections.-- Linda Malone, Univ. of Virginia Health Sciences Ctr., Charlottesville (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.