Panel, Conference Presentation
Race, Gender, and Work: The Economics of Healthy Aging
Milken InstitutePatricia (Pat) Milligan, William Dow, Sarita Gupta, Cara James, Lisa Margeson, Debra Whitman
- Women are projected to remain essential to the workforce to maintain health, wealth, and security, though their life expectancy growth is expected to lag behind men's due to historical smoking trends.
- Significant longevity disparities are anticipated, with top 1% income women likely living 10 years longer than bottom 1% women, and Hispanic women expected to outlive white women by three years, who in turn outlive African American women by three years.
- The "sandwich generation" of women is expected to face increasing toxic stress from balancing labor force participation with household and caregiving duties, a situation exacerbated by the absence of a robust paid leave system.
- A massive demographic shift, characterized by 10,000 daily retirements and four million Millennials having children annually, is driving a "moment of great demand" for care infrastructure and social investment.
- Financial disparities between genders are expected to persist and accumulate, driven by women spending an average of 44% of their working adult life out of the workforce compared to 28% for men, and a continued lack of confidence in financial security.
- Older women are projected to encounter intensified age discrimination, with two-thirds of those over 45 reporting such experiences, a figure rising to three-quarters for African American women.
- Educational attainment trends are diverging, with increases expected for African American women in their 60s and white women in their 50s, while lower-income populations may face declining opportunities as college costs rise.
- Caregiving will increasingly be viewed as a shared responsibility, with projections suggesting men will be encouraged to take caregiving leave at rates equal to women to normalize the role and drive social change.
- Employers are expected to continue struggling to prioritize care due to a perceived lack of ROI, despite evidence that paid family leave substantially improves retention and keeps women in the workforce at higher wage levels.
- Legislative and policy efforts are anticipated to advance, including the passage of the Care Act in over 30 states, the exploration of a universal family care social insurance program, and continued state-level debates on caregiver support.
- Technological integration is expected to enable individuals to combine skill development and work bidding with caregiving, rather than choosing between the two.
- Financial literacy gaps are projected to persist, with public education systems needing to address debt, mortgages, and budgets for youth, while parents may continue spending $500 billion supporting young adults, double their retirement contributions.
- Future financial regrets among women are expected to center on "not investing more," with specific ethnic variations appearing in second-largest regrets regarding career entry wages versus credit card debt.
- Media coverage of personal finance is expected to remain insufficient, with less than 1% of pages in women's publications currently addressing money matters.
- Health and social outcomes are anticipated to rely increasingly on understanding social determinants, including the relationship between housing, food, income, and education.