De Tanvi Patel et Cherian Mathews
As the population of older women continues to rise worldwide, their voices and rights remain overlooked in the pursuit of gender equality. Addressing their exclusion is essential to achieving a future where no woman is left behind.
Across every region of the world, people are living longer, and women are outliving men by an average of five and half years (WHO, 2019). Currently, women over the age of 50 account for 27% of the world’s female population, a figure projected to rise to 35% by 2050. 1.14 billion women will be aged 60 and over by 2050 (UN DESA, 2022).
HelpAge International’s recent report, Investing in Equality: Addressing the Funding Gap for Older Women (HelpAge, 2024) reveals a staggering gap in global gender equality funding. Despite older women constituting over a quarter of the global population of women, only 0.1% of OECD-DAC aid funding targeting gender equality includes them. Of the 7,231 gender-focused projects funded by 29 donors in 2021, only 16 included any reference to older women, equating to a mere $7.8 million from a total of $5.7 billion committed by these donors to gender equality. Even more troubling, a further analysis of some of the projects showed no real targeted support for older women’s wellbeing or rights. References to older women in these projects were often vague, with their inclusion as part of a wider list of vulnerable groups, lacking specific actions to address their unique challenges or empower them. This glaring oversight leaves older women invisible in development and humanitarian funding, perpetuating their exclusion from efforts to achieve true gender equality.
To achieve gender equality as envisaged under Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action, as well as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 5),
older women must be recognised, counted, and their unique experiences
understood.Without addressing their rights and needs and including older
women as active agents, efforts to empower all women and girls will remain incomplete.
Of the 7,231 gender-focused projects funded by 29 donors in 2021, only 16 included any reference to older women, equating to a mere $7.8 million from a total of $5.7 billion committed by these donors to gender equality.
By the time women reach older age, many have faced a lifetime of inequalities rooted in systemic discrimination and unequal gender roles and norms that have shaped their opportunities and experiences. This includes - limited access to education, significant time spent on unpaid care and domestic work, discrimination in the workplace as well more time than men working in informal economies, and in older age, they experience higher levels being widowed than older men.
Globally, older women dedicate an average of 4.3 hours per day to unpaid care and domestic work. This continues in older age - survey data for 47 countries confirms that older women aged 65+ spend on average, nearly twice as much time performing such work as older men. (ILO,2018).
Gender discrimination is compounded by ageism (the stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination against people on the basis of their age) in older age. It is rooted in a lack of knowledge, prejudice, and stereotypes concerning older women. As a result, older women, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, are marginalised, often lack economic independence, and face increased vulnerability in later life.
By the time women reach older age, many have faced a lifetime of inequalities rooted in systemic discrimination and unequal gender roles and norms that have shaped their opportunities and experiences.
Poverty is a particular risk for older people, both men and women. On average, people aged 65 years or over more often live in relatively poor households than those aged 25–64 years. In low- and middle-income countries, whilst women suffer higher levels of poverty than men at all ages, the gender gap is largest in old age. (UN DESA,2022).
“The biggest impact on our quality of life is the poverty we live in. This affects many areas: health, education, social relationships.” Older woman from Moldova
HelpAge’s work exposes the profound impact of poverty and inequality on older women, limiting their ability to afford essentials like food, healthcare, and housing. Escalating conflicts and climate crises magnify these challenges, leaving older women disproportionately affected. They often face hunger, inadequate healthcare, and the mental strain of managing households and caring for family members amidst crises, can lead to harmful coping mechanisms (HelpAge International, 2023). In Pakistan, for instance, extreme weather events such as floods have isolated older women, as younger family members migrate for work, leaving them to endure food shortages and inadequate shelter, with limited access to vital services (HelpAge International, 2023). Despite bearing these burdens, older women are frequently excluded from decisions on how governments and humanitarian agencies respond to crises, perpetuating their marginalization and deepening inequities.
Health needs of older women
While women live longer than men, they spend a greater proportion of their life in ill-health or with a disability, particularly later in life. Older women have unique health and care needs, including around sexual and reproductive health, menopause, mental health, non-communicable diseases, breast and cervical cancer, higher rates of heart disease, risk of stroke and osteoporosis, falls, and dementia. Increased awareness and advocacy of women's health are crucial to reverse the long-standing gender biases in healthcare and normalising this life transition and challenging the prevalent idea that it marks a period of physical and mental decline (Hickey, 2024).
The vast majority of older women live in low- and middle-income countries, where health and care systems are less prepared to respond to their needs. This is due in part to a lack of data to understand the experiences of older women – both from surveys and development / humanitarian funding targeted to assist older women’s health needs and rights.
The vast majority of older women live in low- and middle-income countries, where health and care systems are less prepared to respond to their needs. This is due in part to a lack of data to understand the experiences of older women – both from surveys and development / humanitarian funding targeted to assist older women’s health needs and rights.
Older women are consistently left out of national and global surveys due to arbitrary age caps or a lack of focus on their specific needs. For instance, major surveys like Demographic Health Surveys exclude women over 49, while others, such as the World Health Organization's Study on Global Ageing and Health, fail to address older women’s unique challenges. Compounding this exclusion, data collection increasingly relies on digital tools, leaving older women—who often lack access, skills, or resources—unable to participate. International frameworks like the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) reinforce this bias by capping health indicators at age 49, perpetuating the outdated view of women solely as reproductive beings. This systematic neglect denies older women a voice in shaping policies and programs that could address their realities.
Older women are also excluded from sexual and reproductive health (SRH) programmes due to ageist assumptions about their sexuality and often considered genderless.
Older women are also excluded from sexual and reproductive health (SRH) programmes due to ageist assumptions about their sexuality and often considered genderless. Yet, they face unique SRH needs, including those related to menopause, sexual health, and the long-term impacts of childbirth (Abalos et al., 2023).In addition, there is a lack of empirical studies comprehensively assessing the global and regional burden and trends of HIV and other STIs among older adults including older women. More efforts are required to develop targeted interventions and educational campaigns to address the unique challenges faced by older women in preventing and managing HIV and STIs and improve health equity Maier et al., 2023).
Due to discriminatory attitudes and assumptions or a lack of knowledge of geriatric care by healthcare staff, older women’s medical rights and needs are ignored or misdiagnosed in healthcare facilities.
“Older women are not recognised… as human beings. They are treated like second-hand class citizens. Nobody is bothered about them. You go to a healthcare facility and definitely you will be given an aspirin, not anything concerning your treatment or your sickness.” Older woman, Uganda
A WHO review found that among women over 60, physical and sexual violence from intimate partners remains the most common form of abuse. However, old age also introduces new forms of abuse, such as financial and emotional abuse, neglect, and the withholding of essentials like food, medications, and money.
Gender-based violence (GBV) is prevalent amongst older women, and factors such as disability, poverty and conflicts can exacerbate this. Physical and sexual violence is still prevalent amongst older women, and experienced by many we work with. Globally, 24% of women aged 50–59 and 23% of women aged 60 and older experience lifetime intimate partner violence. A WHO review found that among women over 60, physical and sexual violence from intimate partners remains the most common form of abuse (WHO, 2023). However, old age also introduces new forms of abuse, such as financial and emotional abuse, neglect, and the withholding of essentials like food, medications, and money. This is particularly prevalent for older women with disabilities. In humanitarian settings older women are also at a high risk of sexual abuse by armed or criminal groups while in the community looking for food, wood or working in fields or farms.
However, older women remain largely invisible in GBV data, with many surveys and programmes excluding those over 49, leaving their experiences overlooked and unaddressed.
“I always imagined a quiet old age and next to my husband, but I learnt that violence against women can come in every age. Now, I only can advise women, especially older women, not to tolerate such situations of abuse.” Older woman, Colombia.
Without robust data on issues affecting older women, and without their meaningful inclusion and empowerment to challenge norms and discrimination, their needs and rights will continue to be marginalised in efforts dedicated to gender equality and women’s empowerment. Our work has shown that older women can be and want to be actors of change in many areas.
Governments, donors, and civil society organisations must take actions which prioritise older women – fund initiatives which include older women, and collect, analyse and use sex, age, and disability-disaggregated data to design interventions that address the unique challenges older women face. We must design and implement policies that uphold their rights, and promote their participation.
The barriers faced by older women today demand immediate action to foster inclusivity, equality, and respect for their rights. Older women are not just vulnerable beneficiaries; they are agents of change.
The time to invest in older women is now. Their inclusion, empowerment, and leadership are essential to achieving a world that recognises and upholdsthe rights of women across their life.
The barriers faced by older women today demand immediate action to foster inclusivity, equality, and respect for their rights. Older women are not just vulnerable beneficiaries; they are agents of change.