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Prior to COVID [Coronavirus Disease 2019], gendered patterns in ageing had long been recognised in Australia. As a cohort, older women often face barriers to the well-paid and flexible work they need to save for retirement. Many are still caring for teens/grandchildren, as well as ageing parents. Having often spent a lifetime in part-time work, older women on average retire with half the superannuation of men. Many lack capital assets such as housing, a pillar of Australia's retirement income system. Understanding the importance of secure, safe and flexible work as women age, this report sought to benchmark work outcomes and conditions under the pandemic and to provide a platform for less heard voices.

It concludes: For the lucky few, the pandeconomy has provided new opportunities. For others, the rise of a mass exodus from the workplace, a 'great resignation' shows that workplaces the world over are no longer delivering for workers. For older women, already vulnerable to gendered ageing, the coronavirus crisis has amplified existing inequalities, including age- and gender discrimination. Only by challenging entrenched hierarchies at work and in the home, will we be able to pivot to ways of working that support the wellbeing of all the community.

Edited excerpts from publication. Show less