What Do Women Want?

“The great question that has never been answered, and which I have not yet been able to answer, despite my thirty years of research into the feminine soul, is 'What does a woman want?'”

 -Sigmund Freud

I subscribe to a Department of Labor (“DOL”) weekly newsletter on wage and hour developments which reports on happening at the agency. If you want to subscribe , see   https://service.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDOL/subscriber/new.  The recent newsletter came with the laugh out loud subject heading “What (older) women (workers) want” showing that the agency has a sense of humor. The newsletter focused on two reports on the economic realities of older women in the workplace and policies that would support their wellbeing.

I have been around long enough to see the obvious economic progress of women in the workforce. As a newly minted grandfather of a six week old granddaughter, I take comfort in knowing that young women in particular have made strong press towards pay equity.  Indeed, it is impossible to practice law today and mentor young lawyers without recognizing the considerable changes in the legal profession. For some time, American law schools have had predominately female enrollment. That  emphasis on educational success, getting college degrees, and joining professions is now paying off dividends, with young, educated women now earning more on average than young men. And that is as it should be in a meritocracy.

But DOL two current reports deal with the older cohort of women, age 55 plus, who grew up in different times.  And as best I can tell those reports try to answer the age old question of what women want.  Spoiler alert -- they only want the same thing as their male counterparts – better pay and more flexible working conditions.

If you want to read the DOL reports, see Women, Work, Aging and Financial Security | U.S. Department of Labor (dol.gov).

One report examines the lifetime income costs of assuming the childcare burden.  As noted therein: “Many women spend significant time providing essential care to children and adults with care needs. These caregiving activities often impose substantial economic costs on caregivers. Many caregivers must curtail their employment or stop work altogether to accommodate their care responsibilities. Declines in work hours reduce their earnings while they provide care and thus limit the subsequent retirement income they receive from Social Security and employment-based retirement plans, which depends on past earnings. Reduced employment can also slow caregivers’ wage growth, especially for those who take lower-paying jobs or miss out on promotions because of their caregiving obligations. Thus, the economic cost of family care can persist long after caregiving activities end.” Lifetime lost earnings because of caregiving averaged $237,000, according to the model used in the report.

The second report notes that women of traditional retirement age — those 65 and older, referred to as “older women” — have lower average incomes and are more likely to live in poverty than older men. More than one in ten older women (specifically 11.6%) live in poverty compared to a rate of 8.8% for older men. The report goes on to call for the implementation of specific policies  to improve the security of older women like addressing discrimination, enhancing part-time work policies, more affordable childcare policies, better paid leave policies, strengthening social security benefits at the lower pay end,  expanding access to 401K ad IRA plan benefits, and creation of state sponsored retirement savings plans. Indeed, not a bad grab bag of policy adjustments  for both men and women!