50% rise in older women at work

OLDER women have become the driving force behind Ireland’s workforce, according to a study showing the number of over-50s at work has nearly doubled in the past 20 years.

But it is men who are clocking up the hours as figures reveal, on average, older men work more hours than younger colleagues.

The study, by the Equality Authority, looks at the increased participation by men and women in the 50-69 age category in paid employment since 1983 and warns that workplace policy and employee supports have failed to keep pace.