Just as younger generations of women continue to wrestle with the different identities, categories, and choices of womanhood, women who are entering their matriarchal years are also facing a new set of questions about what a good life looks like in this season.
The traditional script for navigating this matriarchal season of life is gone. Far fewer women today reach silver marriage anniversaries (of 25 years). Fewer stay attached to one local community or church congregation. Fewer retire from jobs they held for 30+ years. But while much has changed for today’s generation of at- or near-retirement women, some things have not: Our families and society still need them, perhaps more than ever. And we want them to enjoy the fruit of their many years of labor without fearing the future, even if it is less certain.
What should women do? What should social institutions, cultural leaders, and our government do to alleviate the caregiving and financial pressures women in this group face and offer them and their families the best lives possible? What does a “good life” look like when much of the good work of active mothering and career accomplishment is coming to an end? What new beginnings are possible?
This report explores these questions and offers practical ideas for helping more women at this stage of life have opportunities to flourish.
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