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COPYRIGHT 2000 JAI Press, Inc.
INTRODUCTION
In the early twentieth century, time spent in retirement was estimated at 7 percent of adulthood. Due to the drastic increase in life expectancy during the 20th century, older adults today can expect to spend 25 percent of their adulthood in retirement. This increase in the length of retirement is especially relevant to women who, as a result of a gender difference in longevity, can expect to spend 20 or more years in retirement (Hagestad 1990).
Unfortunately, a majority of researchers examining women's retirement have employed standards of comparison established in male-only studies or have directly compared the retirement transitions of men and women (Calasanti 1993, 1996; Slevin and Wingrove 1995). Gender comparison research has been criticized for neglecting the complexity and diversity in retirement that occur within-gender. For this reason, there is a need for research that considers within-gender analysis, rather than making gender comparisons of the retirement transition (Hanson and Wapner 1994).
In addition to the limitations of gender comparison research, the preponderance of quantitative studies has seriously limited the extent of qualitative knowledge available on women's retirement. Although aggregate investigations of women's retirement are available, little inductive research exists that has examined the subjective meanings of retirement for women (Karp 1989; Slevin and Wingrove 1995). By empowering women to define their own retirement experience, the unique nature of women's retirement can be more closely examined. A few factors that distinguish women's retirement from men's retirement include women's discontinuous work histories, their employment in lower-status lower-paying jobs, and the presence of family responsibilities. Each of these variables impacts a woman's decision to retire, her financial ability to leave employment, and the quality of life experienced during retirement (Slevin and Wingrove 1995). To study women's retirement experiences, women must be central to the analysis. Advocating within-gender studies does not diminish the value of gender comparison studies; instead, research can be enhanced by making gender comparisons following separate analyses based on gender. The purpose of the present study was to use qualitative methods to describe and analyze the variation that existed in retirement transitions as reported by a sample of retired professional women with continuous work histories.
RESEARCH ON WOMEN'S RETIREMENT
In the past few decades, with the increase of women in the labor force, retirement has become a normative life event for women. Research investigating the retirement transition, however, has traditionally been conducted on white middle-class male samples (Hanson and Wapner 1994; Szinovacz 1982). Initially, researchers only included women in retirement studies to examine wives' experiences of their husbands' retirement, or to examine the effect of retirement on marital satisfaction. Considering the changing roles of women, the growing number of female retirees, and the fact that women constitute a majority of the older adult population, the retirement transition can no longer be identified as a male-only phenomenon. Despite these demographic changes, research that examined women's retirement was essentially nonexistent prior to 1975 (Slevin and Wingrove 1995; Szinovacz 1982).
Research findings pertaining to the retirement transition for women indicate that women are likely to experience economic instability in retirement due to lower paying jobs and discontinuous work histories. Retired women are also likely to receive few, in any, social security benefits, and rarely qualify for pension plans (Carp 1997; Hanson and Wapner 1994; Logue 1991; Szinovacz 1987). As a result of diverse work patterns (e.g., continuous and discontinuous work histories) and family life-cycle responsibilities, women's experiences and attitudes toward retirement may vary; for instance, women who have entered the labor market later in life may view retirement as an imposed interruption and choose to continue working. Empirical research on women's retirement has primarily involved aggregate data and large samples. Unquestionably, these studies provide valuable information about major trends; however, quantitative research provides little insight into the individual experiences of retired women.
Professional Women and Retirement
Researchers investigating the retirement experiences of professional women have found that women's work roles are an important aspect of their identities. As a result of strong work identities, professional women often view retirement as a negative life event (Erdner and Guy 1990; Price-Bonham and Johnson 1982). Prentis (1980) examined women's perceptions toward retirement and found that professional women had limited interest in retirement, were not likely to consider early retirement, and were less likely to coincide their retirement with their spouses' retirement in comparison to men. The women in this study also expressed an interest in continuing to work past retirement and reported missing work after they retired. The emphasis of this investigation on the experiences of professional women is not meant to imply that research on the retirement experiences of semiprofessional or working-class women is inessential (Logue 1991; Perkins 1993). In fact, it is imperative that researchers investigate the unique experiences of all retired women within the context of their family responsibilities and financial status.
Valuable quantitative research concerning the retirement experiences of professional women does exist. However, more qualitative studies, such as the present one, that emphasize the subjective meaning of retirement to professional women are needed (Karp 1989; Slevin and Wingrove 1995). Retirement is often treated as a unitary event (Szinovacz and Washo 1992), when this transition is, in reality, one of the many discontinuities women encounter throughout their life span. A qualitative approach enables the researcher to consider the significance of contextual issues as well as the personal meaning of the phenomenon being investigated (Denzin and Lincoln 1994).
METHODOLOGY
Theory
A theoretical framework commonly associated with investigations of retirement is role theory (Cottrell 1942). This theory asserts that as individuals age, the social roles available to them gradually diminish. Furthermore, how well an individual adjusts to getting older is dependent on how well they accept the changing roles available to them (Fry 1992; Hooyman and Kiyak 1996). The loss of the worker role is frequently cited by role theorists as an example of a significant role loss that can impact the psychological well-being of the elderly and potentially influence their life satisfaction. Role theorists assert that old age roles in Western society are not clearly defined; therefore, no societal guidelines are available to guide seniors' behavior and provide older adults with meaningful activity. Burgess (1960) was the first to describe the role of retiree as "roleless" because of the lack of defined characteristics associated with this role. According to role theory, this lack of societal consensus concerning old age and the potentially limited productive activity of seniors can lead to a reduced sense of identity and self-esteem (Fry 1992). To successfully adjust to old age, role theorists encourage seniors to replace their lost social roles with new or expanded alternative roles (i.e., grandparent, community volunteer, tourist, etc.).
It became apparent during the analysis of these women's narratives that role theory was the theoretical perspective most apparent in their retirement experiences. Many of the women immediately identified the loss of their professional role as a significant component of their retirement. More specifically, the loss of social status, professional challenges, and social contacts were emphasized. Contrary to role theory, however, the women did not reveal a negative impact of this loss of professional identity on their self-esteem or personal identity.
In addition to role theory, this investigation was strongly influenced by the feminist perspective. Participants were empowered to define their own retirement experiences and were included in the analysis of data through "member checks." Qualitative methods were utilized to examine the women's experiences within the context of their lives.
Participants
To examine the personal experiences of retired professional women and enable participants to define and represent themselves, open-ended interviews were conducted. Fourteen professional women who were living in a suburban setting, were retired between 5 and 15 years, and who ranged in age from 64 to 82 years participated in the study. Ten of the women self-identified as white and four women self-identified as black. The relationship status of the sample included six widows, four married women, two divorced women, and two never-married women. See Table 1 for a demographic profile of sample participants.
TABLE 1 Demographic Profile of Sample Participants
Relationship Name Age Race Status Sophie 82 White Widowed Ruth 75 White Widowed Arleen 76 Black Divorced Mim 69 White Married Evelyn 64 Black Divorced Jocelyn 73 White Widowed Louise 71 White Never Married Myrtle 77 White Widowed Shirley 64 White Married Yronne 66 White Married Lee 77 White Widowed Anne 66 Black Never Married Mary 76 Black Widowed Peggy 75 White Married Range: Totals: Totals: 64-82 White 10 Widowed 6 Black 4 Married 4 Divorced 2 Never Married 2 Siblings Name Children (Living) Sophie 2 1 Ruth 3 2 Arleen 1 3 Mim 3 1 Evelyn 1 4 + stepsiblings Jocelyn 3...
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