Centre for Policy on Ageing



Doing it from your heart — the role of older women as informal volunteers
Author(s)	Jeni Warburton, Deirdre McLaughlin
Journal title	Journal of Women & Aging, vol 18, no 2, 2006
Pages	pp 55-72
Source	http://www.tandfonline.com
Keywords	Older women ; Social roles ; Voluntary workers ; Voluntary work [elderly] ; Qualitative Studies ; Australia.
Annotation	The contributions made by older women to the community as informal volunteers is explored. This qualitative study draws on data collected through focus group discussions throughout Queensland, Australia. It argues that ageing policy is not gender neutral and tends to ignore the contributions made by women outside paid work. As well as being ignored in policy, women's unpaid roles have been denigrated by some feminist commentators, who suggest that these roles subordinate the position of women. This paper aims to explore the lived experience of older women in relation to their informal voluntary roles, using role identity theory as a framework. The findings demonstrate that informal volunteering contributes to the women's identity, and gives their lives meaning. The findings suggest that a more positive policy framework around ageing is needed to ensure that the worth of these contributions is recognised. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-070105006 A
Classmark	BD: TM5: QV: GHH: 3DP: 7YA
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.