An Inquiry into Women’s Retirement Identity

• In Event: 067 - Section on Aging and the Life Course Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: Table 05. Discourses of Womanhood across the Life Course

Abstract

The personal and societal implications of retirement identity assume increased importance as the proportion of older adults increase and as researchers and practitioners around the world struggle with conflicting definitions of retirement. Using deductive thematic analysis informed by the life course perspective, this paper presents and examines findings from a study that explored heterogeneity in the construction of women’s identification with being “retired” (n=60). Traditional definitions of retirement were found to be anachronistic and instead retirement was characterized as an identity-shaping concept that reflects and defies social norms. The importance of examining human agency is highlighted in order to better conceptualize women’s adaptation to societal expectations versus perceived failure to adhere to pressures within the work environment and to adopt age-related retirement norms. In addition, this paper demonstrates the importance of recognizing that the construction of retirement identity can be context-driven, varied, and subjective.

Author

• Michelle Pannor Silver, University of Toronto