I began this series
to demonstrate that the belief that older people are unproductive
is unfounded and leads to Ageism. All "isms" are insidious. Ageism
is both hurtful and harmful. These articles have shown that there
are many ways seniors benefit society: Many seniors volunteer
their time or do caregiving and many are gainfully employed thereby
expanding the economy. In this concluding article, I will share
with you the story of a woman who mixes retirement and work to
find a rewarding life.
The newest Census Bureau
statistics show an increase of senior citizens working during
what is usually considered as their retirement years. Most help
fill the need for employees while earning money to pay their medical
and other bills. Many older women work because they have spent
years out of the workforce being caregivers and they either receive
no pension or only a very small one. They may also receive lower
Social Security checks because women have traditionally been paid
less and spend fewer years working. In other words, they work
because they need the income.
Working in later life
is not always about money. Some work for the feeling of satisfaction
and recognition they get from doing so. Others remain or return
to the workforce for social interaction with others. For all these
reasons, the number of Americans 65 and over seeking work increased
10 percent between March 1999 and March 2000 to 4.5 million.
Being retired no longer
necessarily means not working outside the home. Many seniors "retire"
and then start a second career. Some, like many of the women who
write for this website, had rewarding careers in other fields
but now find satisfaction in writing. Some, such as Barbara, draw
upon the years of experience in their field to develop an interesting
new job. The following is Barbara's story.
"I am one of the women
who found it difficult to really and truly retire. After 24 years
at the School of Social Welfare of the University of California
at Berkeley, as a faculty member teaching social welfare management
and an administrator for the internship program, I retired with
great fanfare – a wonderful party including some of my very
first students. I then started my new life by taking a six month
trip – cross country with my husband in our motor home.
On return, and feeling
somewhat lost, I had lots of lunches with friends and former colleagues,
took classes in the daytime, read a lot, enjoyed outings with
my husband and socializing with friends a lot, volunteered for
a political campaign and the local chapter of NOW, attended meetings
of OWL, became a board member of a women's foundation and took
a more active role on the board and as an officer of my professional
organization, National Association of Social Workers and spent
more time grandparenting.
I realized that unlike
my husband, who was very content in retirement, I still wanted
the challenge and satisfaction of going back to work but wanted
to do it only part time. While I was debating about what form
my return to work should take, I was approached by the School
of Social Welfare to fill in half time for a faculty member going
on sabbatical. Perfect! That stretched out to two years, and during
that time I began planning for what I would do when it ended.
With a colleague at
the School, and under the auspices of the Bay Area Social Services
Consortium, (BASSC) I started a program to train upper managers
in nine county social service departments in the Bay Area. It
was designed to help them learn how to redefine and reorganize
their agencies to meet the new challenges posed by welfare reform.
BASSC is a unique organization, composed of the directors of the
social service departments, deans of the bay area schools of social
work and directors of several local foundations. The Executive
Development Program is administered through UC Extension. It consists
of three five day class room modules spread through the year and
an executive exchange where the participants spend fifteen days
in a county agency other than their own.
Now beginning its eighth
year, the program has trained over two hundred managers and has
been an outstanding success, including receiving a national award.
My role as coordinator of the program brings me immense rewards:
professional growth and stimulation, recognition, relationships
with a diverse group of colleagues, the satisfactions of teaching
and money for the "extras" or unexpected. I also feel I am making
a contribution to the betterment of society by helping to transform
agencies serving the poor.
My main challenge is
to keep it part time. I strive to be disciplined about what I
can undertake and what to delegate to others. Because I am, after
all, retired, and want the fun that goes with that as well."
Older people continue
to be vital, productive, and active contributors to society. As
those of any age, we have the need and the right to be valued
and empowered. I think this series has demonstrated that we have
earned that right whether we work for pay, as a volunteer, caregiver,
student or activist. Today, we are among this society's strongest
members, contributing to its strength and vitality.
Betty
Soldz is an author, educator and consultant in the field of aging.
She facilitated workshops and discussion groups for the University
of California Berkeley Retirement Center. Betty is one of the co-authors
of Wise
Choices Beyond Midlife: Women Mapping the Journey Ahead.
She is Past-President of OWL/CA (Voices of Mid-life and Older Women)
and is Chairperson of 50+ and Strong: An Alliance for Women's Health. For
the past 11 years, Betty volunteered with the California Health
Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP) of Legal Assistance
for Seniors and is active in the struggle to protect Medicare and
Social Security. She is now Newsletter Editor and a member
of the Coordinating Committee of Greater Boston OWL and volunteers
with the Friendship Circle Program of SHOWA College, helping visiting
Japanese women students experience "real" American life. . Betty
can be contacted at:Milbet@aol.com.
