Skip to main content
You are the owner of this article.
You have permission to edit this article.
Edit
For Subscribers The Third Act

They had families, worked hard and grew old. Now they face their final years in poverty. Why are we failing older women in Canada?

A growing number of older women, especially those with careers that paid enough to get by but did not offer workplace pensions, live in a precarious financial position that can be brutally isolating.

Updated
13 min read
_1sheilagh_and_keiko

Sheilagh Hagens, once had a two-story home near McMaster University in Hamilton. She has a masters degree in linguistics and sold her house about eight years ago and since then has been struggling to find an affordable rental. She is now living above her means in a small High Park basement studio.


At the age of 80, after a career in non-profits, a master’s degree in linguistics and years spent teaching overseas, Sheilagh Hagens is entering the poverty of old age.

It’s a place that is inhabited in many ways by women. After raising children and working lower-paying jobs with no private pensions, women in their senior years have a statistically higher risk of poverty than men. It’s all there in government data, even if the details get scant attention.

sheilagh_with_her_sax

Sheilagh Hagens, spends each day outside, walking her rescue dog, Keiko, who is part Shiba Inu.

dr_paula_rochon

Dr. Paula Rochon, a geriatrician, founding director of Women's Age Lab at Women's College Hospital and senior scientist at Women's College Research Institute.

pat_dunn

Pat Dunn, founder of Senior Women Living Together (SWLT).

sandi_on_couch

Sandi Petersen now lives in a short-term shared rental outside of Ottawa and plans to move to a new community with two roommates in the early spring.

rachel_savage

Rachel Savage, a scientist with a PhD in epidemiology, studies the impact of loneliness among older adults at the Women's College Research Institute and Women's Age Lab.

Moira Welsh

Moira Welsh is a Toronto Star journalist leading The Third Act project, pushing for changes in the way older adults live. Follow her on Twitter: @moirawelsh.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

Anyone can read Conversations, but to contribute, you should be a registered Torstar account holder. If you do not yet have a Torstar account, you can create one now (it is free).

To join the conversation set a first and last name in your user profile.

Conversations are opinions of our readers and are subject to the Community Guidelines. Toronto Star does not endorse these opinions.

More from The Star & partners