With both International Women’s Day and Mother’s Day right around the corner, we wanted to take this chance to celebrate the older women in our society.
With International Women’s Day set to take place on March 8, we wanted to take this opportunity to celebrate the older women in our society.
This day is a chance to call for greater acknowledgement and representation of women, especially older age groups who can come to feel overlooked.
It’s also time to acknowledge that – while societal representation is crucial – tangible support mechanisms such as live-in care can help older women live with greater self-determination.
International Women’s Day reminds us to celebrate our older women
International Women’s Day is an annual initiative that celebrates the achievements of women and raises awareness of gender issues.
With a recent report predicting gender parity is still over 200 years away, the chosen theme for 2018 is ‘#PressforProgress‘. This edition aims to consolidate and expand on the momentum of inspirational women’s movements such as ‘#MeToo’ and ‘#TimesUp’.
Mother’s Day is also coming up on March 11. So, you don’t need to look far to find an obvious example of a crucial role many women play. However, too many of their compelling efforts still go unnoticed.
Older women have proven adept at turning their hands to just about anything. These are some of the roles we most regularly see them play:
- Advisors for family and close friends
- Organisers of social and community events
- Leaders of campaigns and community initiatives
- Caregivers for grandchildren and other family members
- Custodians of knowledge, traditions, stories and songs
- Creators of artistic and edible delights
It’s also crucial to remember that the person you see today has a lifetime of lived experiences behind them. The older woman you now know might once have flown Spitfires in the war.
How can older women be better represented and supported?
From a care provider’s perspective, two key areas need addressing in order to move towards parity for older women:
1. Public representation
The achievements of today’s older women, and those of historical figures, should be more widely promoted.
This should apply to both public figures (actors, news presenters etc.) and people who’ve chosen to live outside the public eye, but still perform vital functions.
Society should also take steps to make both public and commercial services more accessible, relevant and usable for older people.
To move towards these goals, we need to give older women more of a voice in society and empower them to become a valued part of the solution.
2. Improving care standards
Specialist, person-centric care is crucial for enabling older women to live independently and stay engaged with the people they value.
This standard of care allows older women to continue to contribute their skills and qualities to society. In turn, this can help to enhance representation of this group.
Live-in care helps facilitate this by promoting independence while also filling any gaps for tasks individuals might no longer be able to complete unaided.
A live-in care team can help your loved one get around and stay both socially and physically active, improving quality of life and helping to dispel negative stereotypes.
To mark International Women’s Day 2018, think about the older women in society and how we can better celebrate them.
Find out how The Good Care Group seeks to support and celebrate our live-in care clients by speaking with our friendly team.
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