Back to Search Start Over

Working Longer: Do IT Boomers Expectations Differ by Gender.

Working Longer: Do IT Boomers Expectations Differ by Gender.

Authors :
Moen, Phyllis
Kojola, Erik
Kelly, Erin L.
Source :
Conference Papers - American Sociological Association; 2015, p1-39, 39p
Publication Year :
2015

Abstract

Career and retirement paths are in flux due to a turbulent global economy and the dismantling of the social contract between employers and employees. But most existing research on older workers and their retirement expectations investigates earlier cohorts and may well not capture the experiences of the large Boomer cohort. Moreover, comparisons of women's and men's retirement expectations typically examine people in different occupational and organizational contexts. By contrast, this study is a longitudinal investigation of an occupational cohort of white-collar professionals (Boomers) working in the information technology (IT) division of a Fortune 500 company. We assess gender differences in expectations of retiring and working longer in the same social environment, as well as the impacts of continuity and change in family and job conditions, and subjective wellbeing. We find that IT Boomer women expect to retire and leave the workforce earlier than their male colleagues. However, over half of women report high subjective probabilities of working at age 65, and three in ten see high probabilities they will work at age 67. Adult care work and long work hours predict men working longer, while perceived income adequacy and tenure are significant predictors of earlier exits for men and women. Many of these Boomers expect to continue working after retiring from their careers. Overall, our findings indicate important differences by gender even in this relatively homogeneous sample suggests enduring differences and disparities in the later life course and greater within gender heterogeneity in expecting to work longer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
Database :
Supplemental Index
Journal :
Conference Papers - American Sociological Association
Publication Type :
Conference
Accession number :
111785789