Older Women Workers, the Pandemic, Employment Discrimination and Lifetime Disadvantage
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
2024
Abstract
As a group, older women workers were among those most severely impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. Drawing from both intersectionality and cumulative disadvantage theory, the Model of Lifetime Disadvantage created by Bisom-Rapp and Sargeant helps frame the position of these workers in the labor market prior to and during the pandemic. The model also explains why and how disjointed, incremental legal interventions are unable to meet the challenge of gendered ageism, which surged during the crisis. Disasters produce impacts unevenly on individuals and communities. Older women are a diverse group, whose social position is mediated by race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and other factors. Given this complexity, equality law is unlikely to be an effective tool for addressing pandemic-related shortfalls in economic opportunity and security. Consequently, public policies geared to the life cycles and demands facing older women workers are necessary for pandemic recovery and resilience.
Recommended Citation
Susan Bisom-Rapp,
Older Women Workers, the Pandemic, Employment Discrimination and Lifetime Disadvantage,
Research Handbook on Law, Society and Ageing
265
(2024).
Available at:
https://scholarlycommons.law.cwsl.edu/fs/452