Gender-Based Wage Discrimination and Feminization of Aging

Introduction

Counseling is based on the provision of interventions that help sustain psychological well-being. Professional values must be kept in line with the ethical values of the patient so that the therapeutic process is conducted smoothly, producing interventions that serve the best interests of the selected population. This paper examines the social justice and aging issue as it affects women worldwide and proposes a viable counseling solution and suitable intervention.

Literature Review: Aging and the Feminization of Poverty

Aging well is one of the most prioritized areas of the medical field, as a greater portion of the global population is now aging. It is important to provide physical and mental well-being interventions so that the goal of successful aging is achieved. Lifestyles, health activities, social participation, and domestic and environmental factors are under study to determine what influences successful aging most, particularly for people over 60 years of age. Medical experts and their endeavors to maximize quality of life (QoL) for aging individuals have been geared toward realizing their potential for physical, mental, and social engagement (Halaweh et al., 2018). Self-reported themes from older populations include a sense of well-being, physical and mental health, and positive feelings toward life as components of healthy aging (Halaweh et al., 2018). In addition, active aging is an emerging concept that should be pursued alongside healthy aging, as leisure activities, diet, and physical exertion offer possibilities for optimizing opportunities and improving quality of life.

A synthesized literature review study revealed certain factors of successful aging, such as inner feelings of happiness and satisfaction, physical activity, social interactions, and personal attitudes of older adults toward their own aging (Estebsari et al., 2020). The pleasant inner feeling that one can still participate fully in life, and the resulting flourishing of personality, are signs of successful aging. This can also contribute to self-care and greater awareness of one's well-being, enabling older persons who suffer from conditions such as hypertension or diabetes to self-manage more effectively. This, in turn, would improve QoL, as older adults would be better equipped to adhere individually to their own care.

Health practitioners working with older populations have noted that changing demographics create different implications for formulating optimized interventions for healthy aging. They have disclosed that social and spiritual components contribute significantly to healthy aging in this segment (Dev et al., 2020). Aging individuals expressed a desire to be free and less dependent on others for their survival. This included self-care and greater fulfillment of physiological needs for improved mobility. Cognitive factors — encompassing proactive and conscious control over their lives — influenced the positive attitudes of older adults and were deemed critical for maintaining a higher quality of life. The social component, including support from family and friends, also played a key role: greater connectivity leads to more involvement in daily activities, giving rise to improved contributions to society and an amplified sense of self.

Feminization of poverty refers to the greater proportion of the population suffering from poverty being female or children (Woehrle & Engelmann, 2008, p. 861). This concept connects directly to the feminization of aging, as research has corroborated that a greater proportion of the global aging population will be women (Yang et al., 2020). Gender discrimination in pay has given women fewer opportunities for professional advancement and reduced access to highly influential work positions, affecting their decision-making capabilities. Social and economic stability becomes uncertain with fewer resources in old age, leading to social injustice for women in their later years. Restrictions in gender roles and the expectations tied to those roles limit women's participation in public life, and much stereotyping still confines women to child-bearing or home-caretaking roles.

In some under-developed societies, where resources are limited, women have fewer chances of accessing healthcare, education, food, and housing security because employment opportunities are largely unavailable. In such situations, legal protection in old age is also inferior, even in cases of domestic violence (The World Bank, 2018). In the work context, the feminization of aging reflects the reality that a majority of women experience gender-based discrimination — particularly in wages — which forces aging women to face life difficulties during their later years (Cepellos, 2021). Research has found that women have a longer life expectancy than men, which means that more women will be present in the older population, signifying that a large portion of the aging population is under threat of wage discrimination and ageism (Cepellos, 2021).

As the larger portion of the world population is female, women will also majorly represent the aging population. The existing gender wage gap is causing financial security problems for this group. Gender-based discrimination, combined with an increasing feminization rate, may lead to greater poverty in these women's later years, since they are not empowered with equal growth opportunities or equal pay compared to men (Serrao, 2015, p. 6). This causes stress and anxiety, as care and social support diminish for aging women due to social isolation and loneliness — particularly when a spouse is either absent or no longer financially capable of supporting the family.

Because women live longer than men, social and economic vulnerabilities will be higher among this segment of the aging population (Serrao, 2015, p. 6; Yang et al., 2020). There are regions where women's access to health, education, employment, and other life benefits is minimal, creating problems for them and their children as they age. When a greater portion of the population — represented by women — grows old and grows poor, this constitutes a genuine feminization of aging and is a serious matter of concern for women's psychological health.

With women representing a large part of the population, their aging and employment situations are increasingly complicated. Women are often expected to manage household chores and childcare, and they face related stereotyping in the workplace (Napley, 2021). As they age, older workers may be less physically productive but typically demonstrate strong work ethics, greater experience, fewer sick days, and more seasoned problem-solving skills compared to younger workers. Yet for women, prospects for career progression remain limited, gender pay disparity persists, and flexible working policies are insufficiently available.

Gender-Based Wage Discrimination

For every dollar paid to men, women are paid only 79 cents (Schieder & Gould, 2016). These earnings differences reflect gender biases in the workplace despite women possessing equal qualifications, experience, or expertise. According to human capital theory, this unfairness stems from the perception that women possess less "human capital" — the knowledge, talent, skills, and experience relevant to a job (Grybaite, 2006). It is assumed that women must invest more hours in childcare and less time in their careers, especially after childbirth, which contributes to a gender earnings gap. Working intermittently and part-time causes women to withdraw from the workforce sooner, further widening the wage gap. Gender role theory holds that men and women have socially determined roles in school, the home, personal interactions, family responsibilities, and employment (Brynin, 2017). Societal segregation thus drives wage discrimination through social pressures and role-based expectations.

However, with the changing dynamics of society — including greater divorce rates and single parenting among both genders — more women are working with full commitment to support their families (Grybaite, 2006). This has led women to demand better professional development opportunities and higher-level positions with better salaries. Pay practices are seen as socially constructed: the work done by women, no matter how complex or comparable to that of men, is occupationally "undervalued," giving rise to pay discrimination that correlates with occupational feminization (Brynin, 2017).

With age, the social inequalities resulting from the wage gap can also be understood through the life course approach. This framework highlights the accumulation of disadvantages over time: men tend to see their wages rise with age and experience, while women face the opposite trajectory (Toczek, Bosma & Peter, 2021). Certain disadvantages may partly reflect differences in education levels, but gender inequality in the labor market persists regardless, with clear consequences for work-life trajectories over the life course for both genders.