Baby Boomer women are in trouble. Unlike any other time in our nation’s history, unless there are dramatic policy shifts, in terms of absolute numbers, Baby Boomer women, most particularly minority women, will find their elder years to be a "never ending" struggle.
After selflessly caring for their children and aging parents, a significant number of our country’s 40 million plus boomer women will not be able to afford to retire, will fall below the poverty line and experience financial insecurity and poorer health in their later years with limited aid from traditional safety nets.
Many of our boomer women will not have secure retirement futures because of diverse and interrelated demographic, social, cultural, political and economic societal factors. Almost 30 million boomer women will face uncertain employment, financial, heath care, housing and retirement futures because of gender-biased public and private sector policies.
Now is the time to recognize the singular needs of women as they age and to develop and implement public and private policies which target and address this demographic reality. In the workplace, policies must be updated to reflect the changes in family structures and accommodate the compelling needs of single parenting women. We must eliminate the "glass ceiling" and age/gender discrimination policies and practices in the work place.
Source: Baby Boomer Women: Secure Futures or Not? is a unique study because it provides answers and solutions to women planning their employment, financial, retirement, health care and housing futures.