Bridging on Gendered Terms: Social Role and Network Inequality in Later Life

• In Event: Middle-Range Theorizing and Its Empirical Tests

Abstract

Paradoxically, older women appear rich in social capital yet constrained in managing relationships. We theorize social roles as opportunity structures that yield gender-differentiated returns to networks. Using state-representative ego-network data on older adults in Indiana, we test how obligatory roles (kin, caregiving, employment) and voluntary roles (friends, neighbors, teams/clubs, religious participation, volunteering) convert into network bridging in later life. Results from mixed-effect models show that obligatory roles show positive association with bridging only for men and are positively linked to men’s uptake of voluntary roles. Moreover, the positive association between voluntary roles and bridging is more pronounced for men. Role-specific analyses highlight civic/associational roles for men and friendships for women. Findings update Bott’s insight on enclosure in later life. Women’s obligatory roles tend to limit their outward-facing participation, constraining networks, while men parlay obligations and elective roles into broader brokerage. We discuss implications for persistent gendered network inequality in aging.

Authors

• Tianyao Qu, Indiana University-Bloomington

• Jessica Brantez, Indiana University-Bloomington

• Brea Louise Perry, Indiana University-Bloomington