OLDER WOMEN AND DISCRIMINATION AT WORK

Increasing numbers of older people are working past retirement age. However,
older women are leaving the work force earlier compared with men, despite having
longer life expectancies. Given the economic and health benefits of staying in the labor
force in later life, it is important to understand which factors may contribute to older
women exiting the labor force. With advancing ages, women may experience increasing
work discrimination due to ageism and sexism. Using data from Wave 11 (2012) the
Health and Retirement Study (HRS), I examine whether age is a predictor of work
discrimination among older women workers. I conducted multivariable linear regression
to assess whether age predicts perceived work discrimination among older women
workers, net of all covariates. Additionally, an interaction between race and age was
investigated to assess whether women of color experienced more work discrimination
with advancing ages. I observed that age was negatively associated with work
discrimination. Findings suggest that experiences with work discrimination may push
older women out the labor force prematurely. Older women may desire to escape
discriminatory work environments with less favorable conditions.