Early Retirement Under Gender and Ethnic Marginalization: Evidence From Palestinian-Arab Women in Israel

• In Event: 30420 - Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 9: Global Race and Ethnicity

Abstract

The paper examines early retirement among Palestinian-Arab women in Israel. Following quantitative evidence that these women are prone to early retirement, we conducted qualitative research to unravel the underlying socio-economic forces guiding their retirement decisions. We conducted 26 semi-structured interviews with early retirees, recruited using the snowball method, revealing a range of push and pull factors influencing early retirement. Pull factors include expectations for care work throughout women's lifecycles, while push factors include burnout, the glass ceiling, and ageism. Drawing on intersectionality theory and the concept of the gendered kin-script, the analysis explores the interplay between women's agency in early retirement decisions and their precarious position within Israel's ethnically segregated and discriminatory labor market. Whether they make an informed choice to retire, are forced out, feel pressured to take on urgent domestic responsibilities, or succumb to burnout, their decisions are shaped by both perceived work opportunities and societal expectations embedded in the gendered kin-script. We argue that this script allows women to ascribe positive meaning to their choices, despite the precarity that early retirement entails.

Authors

• Maha Sabbah-Karkabi, Ben Gurion University

• Amalia Sa’ar

• Sami Miaari