Gender Inequality Makes Aging More Difficult for Women
Two older women biking in Amsterdam (Photo by Holly Hixson, Amsterdam, NL, 2018)
In 2022, the average age of Canadians was 41, an age that may align with how most Canadian cities are currently built - to get folks to work and from suburban areas. But the same year, it was also recorded that Canada’s aging population is growing, with almost one in five Canadians being 65 or older, or 18.8% of the population. While our population is getting older, our cities seem to stay the same, adding challenges to our aging population, especially elderly women.
Despite elderly women representing a significant majority of Canada’s aging population, they are often an afterthought in city planning. Current practices in our cities do not always consider the intersectional approach to aging, leaving women more likely to feel isolated, depressed, and often unable to age in place in their communities.
Here is an overview of how gender inequality makes aging more difficult for women and what steps can be taken to achieve age-friendly cities that don’t leave women, and other aging folks, out of the equation.
What Makes Aging Difficult for Women?
Women are more likely to outlive their partners, to be single, and to be living alone. There are currently a few popular theories of why this longevity in women exists. Women are also more likely to live in poverty and on fixed incomes. This can be due to career barriers, poor financial outcomes of divorce, as well as requiring more savings over a longer lifespan, to name a few factors. Women earn less, own less property and have fewer financial resources to fall back on. Women are also more likely to have children and care for grandchildren and aging parents as they get older, extending their resources further. Lastly, women are more likely to live without access to essential services such as reliable public transportation and healthcare as a result of diminished mobility over time.
Health and Healthcare
Women have distinct and unique healthcare needs, which are often not recognized by our healthcare system. Symptoms of heart attacks and strokes in women (which are different than in men) may go unrecognized as there is currently a gap in basic understanding, diagnostic methods, and methods of care that exist for women in Canada. The Canadian health industry must recognize women’s health needs and take the opportunity to assess healthcare plans, eliminate stigma and sexism against women (especially when it comes to reproductive health), and ensure that women and marginalized groups are a wholesome part of modern health surveys and studies.
World map showing life expectancy differences between men and women. Source: Population Reference Bureau
Lack of Mobility Options are a Barrier for Aging Women
Mobility-related disabilities can limit a person's access to opportunities and ability to participate fully in society. In Canada, women are more likely to suffer from mobility-related disabilities and physical impairments. This makes it more difficult for them to access essential and non-essential services. Often public transportation is the only means of reaching destinations, services, friends, and family members for elderly women. Limited mobility and lack of reliable public transportation can leave them feeling disconnected and invisible.
Poor bodily mobility also means that women also face greater risks from natural disasters and other environmental hazards. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) report on gender-focused aging states this is because older women are especially vulnerable in disaster situations because they lack information, mobility, and resources due to being increasingly likely to live alone.
A great way for cities to increase seniors’ mobility is to create seniors playgrounds. Cities like Berlin, London, and Toronto have already been trying out this concept to help the elderly get exercise and socialize. Connectivity to these playgrounds is equally as important - if seniors can’t access spaces meant for them, they will result in inefficient use. Barrier-free active transportation networks can be designed with principles of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) in mind, to increase safety and reduce the perception of fear on the streets.
Group of elderly women enjoy a park in Copenhagen, Denmark. Source Pop-Up City
Femicide and Gender-Based Violence
Research has recently begun to understand the intersectionality of violence, aging, and gender, showing that older women are more vulnerable than young women and older men to fall victim to crime and gender-based violence. This is due to their declining health conditions, restricted or diminishing mobility and strength, cognitive and mental decline, increase in loneliness and isolation, and growing dependence on caregivers.
The United Nations defines femicide as “an intentional killing with a gender-related motivation, femicide may be driven by stereotyped gender roles, discrimination towards women and girls, unequal power relations between women and men, or harmful social norms.”
While street harassment and other forms of gender-based violence target women outdoors, their safety concerns extend into the private home, with elderly women increasingly falling victim to domestic abuse. Domestic abuse is often underreported among older populations and older women - some of the many reasons may be due to family attachments, societal norms that focus on women’s primary identity as mothers, wives, or caregivers preventing them from disclosing abuse due to fear of strained relationships or for protection.
Well-connected and designed cities can be a solution to gender-based violence in the private and public space, especially when elderly women can be a part of a tight-knit community where they can build connections, reduce their unaccompanied activities, and build support networks.
Young protesters holding signs that bring awareness to violence against women in Montreal, QC. Source Comox Valley Record
Housing Options Support Women's Autonomy
Older women in Canada are becoming more and more likely to live alone, due to aging beyond their partners. Because of this, and with women earning less than men, they require affordable age-friendly homes that allow them to live independently, near caregivers and with easy access to services and resources. Cities can offer unique opportunities to build communities that elderly women can participate in. Community amenities in close proximity to housing, such as a library, public park, or a recreational centre can serve as a safe space for socialization, resources, and recreation. However, many cities in North America incorporate suburbs, which have been termed the “architecture of isolation” by some urban planners. The challenge of growing old in the suburbs often means that residents outlive their ability to drive and connect to services, their families, and friends.
A great success story of providing elderly women with diverse housing choices is the creation of senior women’s only co-housing development in North London, UK (New Ground Cohousing) - a co-housing complex that welcomes women aged 50 to 90 who are meant to support each other through old age.
Age-Friendly Cities
Canada’s aging population is not getting any younger, meaning our cities need to reflect their needs, especially elderly women’s needs, in our built environment.
Age-friendly cities and communities should contribute to elderly women’s health and well-being, offer barrier-free public spaces that promote active recreation and socialization, and provide affordable housing to people of all ages and abilities. Additionally, cities must prioritize safe streets, availability of active transportation, and the creation of safe and connected neighbourhoods to ensure older adults can live safely, securely, and comfortably for many years to come.
Resources and Further Reading
6 Challenges for Women Aging in Suburbia | Aging In Place Resources
Women, Ageing and Health: A Framework for Action
Aging in Place in Suburbia: a Qualitative Study of Older Women
Canada: life expectancy at birth by gender 2010-2020 | Statista.
Canada needs a national aging strategy that includes older women | The Star
Age (in single years), average age and median age and gender: Canada and forward sortation areas ©
Research Paper - Not the ‘golden years’: Femicide of older women in Canada
First Senior Co-Housing For Women Only Is the Future of Independent Ageing — Pop-Up City
Five essential facts to know about femicide | UN Women – Headquarters.
How Cities Are Keeping the Elderly Happy and Healthy With Senior Playgrounds
Sick and tired: How the medical field neglects women’s health - The McGill Tribune
The Challenge of Growing Old in the Suburbs - Bayshore HealthCare
