Poverty of Older Women in Slovenia

Abstract

The aim of this article is to draw attention to the pressing yet politically overlooked issue of poverty among older women. Gender difference in poverty in old age is high in most countries in the European Union and beyond. Poverty of older women is two to three times higher than the poverty of men, what will be presented latter in the article. Literature review and comparative research data show that social security systems around the world insufficiently address the problem neglecting the core issue of gender inequalities over the life-course (Barrientos et al., 2003; Bettio et al., 2013; Börcsh Supan et al., 2011; Burkevica et al., 2015; Gianni et al., 2015). Review also shows that poverty in old age cannot be understood by studying merely statistical data over a certain period of time, since it is a result of the accumulation of inequalities throughout one’s life course. Furthermore, poverty among older women cannot be fully understood without taking into account the socialization of women into expected social and gender roles which affect their life courses. Even though the causes of poverty of women in old age are known, the problem of political recognition remains what impacts the survival of women in old age. Poverty reduces their life to taking care just of basic needs, such as having something to eat and enough money to pay the bills what in most cases is already a struggle. The problem affects also elderly women in Slovenia. Poverty of Older Women in Slovenia