Gender and Later Life : A Sociological Analysis of Resources and Constraints

This book examines gender divisions in later life by focusing on three key resources or constraints which influence the level of independence of elderly people: financial, health and domestic. It reveals the ways in which elderly women are disadvantaged in terms of each of these three critical resources. Financial, health and domestic resources are shown to operate at the level of the individual, the household, the family, the neighbourhood and the state. The authors present analysis of gender inequalities in old age by revealing how these resources interact to influence the individual's level of dependence or independence in later life.