Introduction
As a group, older women tend to be more vulnerable to poverty and isolation than either younger persons or men of the same age.  However, older women are far from a homogeneous group.  For example, 11 percent of white women age 65 and over live below the federal poverty level; but, for black women and women of Hispanic origin of the same age, that number more than doubles (to 26% for black women and 24% for Hispanic women).  Only six percent of white men ages 65 and older have income this low (2001 statistics).¹

In this issue brief we examine the differences and similarities by race/ethnicity of 1,001 midlife and older women who were part of the 2002 National Poll of Women 50+ conducted by the National Center on Women and Aging (NCWA).  NCWA surveyed women across the country to gain a better understanding of their experiences, opinions and attitudes and to provide benchmark data that will enable future research and analysis of changes and trends among this important population.

Contents:
General Demographics, Health
Financial Status and Capabilities, Caregiving, Work Attachment
Attitudes and Opinions

Series Home Page

Other titles in the series...
Women 80+
Work Status:  Staying Employed, Finding a Job
Savers & Non-Savers:  Different Expectations, Different Destinies
Marital Status:  Does Marriage Make Women’s Later Years Brighter?
How Do Physical Limitations Affect Expectations About Aging?
 

¹ U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, March 2002.  Downloaded  from http://ferrt.bls.census.gov/macro/032002/pov/new01_001.htm. Table 1.