Gender, Work, and Quality of Life in Old Age

As countries worldwide see their populations age due to increased lifespans and lower fertility rates, understanding how societal contexts impact the well-being and quality of life of older adults becomes crucial for policymaking. Particularly in the developing giants China and India, aging presents unique challenges. These countries face aging populations before becoming rich, leading to older adults often working for as long as they physically can due to low earnings and limited public welfare. Economic opportunities for the elderly typically offer low pay and little security, and both countries have strong traditions of gender norms and familial support for the aged, where older adults, especially women, may provide household and childcare support in return for assistance from their adult children.

Despite these challenges, urban China differs markedly due to its socialist legacy of gender egalitarianism and a welfare state benefiting public sector workers, leading to less gendered division of work and better access to state pensions. Exploring the interplay of gender, work, and quality of life among older adults in urban and rural regions of China and India offers insights into the diverse experiences of aging shaped by societal forces.

Using data from the World Health Organization's study on aging in China and India, we find that older women were less involved in paid work and more in unpaid work across China and India. But both paid and unpaid work were least gendered in urban China and most in rural India with an exceptionally heavy double burden on rural Chinese women.

Notably, while paid work correlates with higher quality of life in both countries, the benefits of unpaid work are significant only in urban China. Gender differences in work participation therefore contribute to older women's lower quality of life, particularly in India and rural China.

The gendered implications of work also extend to leisure. Although urban Chinese women were disadvantaged relative to urban Chinese men, they still enjoyed more leisure time than both men and women in rural China, urban India, and rural India. The study underscores that gender disparities in unpaid housework are a primary driver of leisure inequality across these societies.

Overall, urban China emerges as the most favourable environment for the quality of life and leisure of older adults among the regions studied, highlighting the importance of considering the gendered nature and implications of work in policies aimed at supporting the aging population.

Further Readings:

Hu, Shu, and Dhiman Das. 2018. Work in Old Age and Quality of Life: Gender Divide in China and India. Asia Research Institute Working Paper Series No. 267. https://ari.nus.edu.sg/publications/wps-267-work-in-old-age-and-quality-of-life-gender-divide-in-china-and-india/

Hu, Shu, and Dhiman Das. 2019. “Quality of Life among Older Adults in China and India: Does Productive Engagement Help?” Social Science & Medicine 229:144–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.06.028

Hu, Shu, and Dhiman Das. 2024. “Gender, Work, and Leisure in Old Age in China and India.” Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10823-024-09497-7