Older people in the US are in a majority women. You probably don’t know that between the ages of 65 to 74 one out of every five women in the US have a job. Women in general face some serious challenges in the workforce, in addition older people face even worst troubles if they need or want to work. Here are some eye-opening facts about older women and their participation in the workforce. 

Older people in the US are mostly women, and many of them are active workforce. In 2013, 14 percent of women aged 65 and older were active workers; among the youngest of this age group (aged 65–74) more than one in five women were in the workforce. Slightly more than half 51.4 percent of women aged 65 and older work part-time.

More than half of women 65 or older work part-time graph 

Part-time employees usually make less per hour for the same work, receive less benefits, have lower promotion opportunities, and often have the worst working times or schedules. 

Compared to women in general older women always earn less

The median annual earnings of women aged 65 and older who work full-time, year-round in the United States are $37,000, less than the earnings for all women aged 16 and older who earn in average $38,000. 
Women aged 75 and older who work full-time, year-round have median earnings that are $8,000 less than those aged 65–74. Which is a considerable difference. 
Older women earn 72.5 cents on the dollar compared with their male counterparts. The gender earnings ratio is lower than the earnings ratio between all men and women. 

There are clear differences in the jobs older women develop compared to older men

It is interesting to find that older women have a different working habit compared to their male counterparts.  

• They don’t occupy as much managerial or professional occupations 35.6 percent, in men it is 42.7 percent. This is not true when not considering age, in general terms women are considerably more likely than men to work in professional or managerial occupations, where women represent 39.9 percent compared with 33.0 percent of men.
• Older women are more likely to work in service or in office and administrative support occupations. Actually more than four in ten or 45.9 percent of older women work in these occupations, compared with just one in five or 19.6 percent of older men.
• Older women are much less likely than their male counterparts to work in management, business, and financial occupations 12.0 percent compared with 21.0 percent, which is a considerable difference.  
• In construction or production occupations, the difference is even larger, 5.8 percent compared with 24.9 percent.