Economics, politics, health, and sexuality are topics we all think about regularly, and these factors provide a context for our lived experiences. An essential dimension of this context is gender and the differential effects on individuals whose identity may be aligned with male and female gender designations. In reading this issue, the importance of women’s experience juxtaposed against those of men is not new. However, these contributors argue that future scholarly explorations of these constructs—economics, politics, health, and sexuality—necessitate a gendered perspective and provide support for this. Although it is important to focus on the well-being of women, it is equally important to recognize that the context for exploring women’s lives and making the needed change in societal constructs must not occur in silos.
Our contributors Amira Paz, Israel Doron, and Aviad Tur-Sinai, in their article “Gender, Aging and the Economics of ‘Active Aging’: Setting a New Research Agenda,” advocate for the adoption of a gender-specific research agenda in exploring the interrelation between gender and economic aspects of “active aging.” Since the “Active Aging” framework was adopted in 2002, the financial and economic differential impact on gender has not been fully examined. Gendered considerations are not only needed regarding the economics of active aging but are also relevant to the political landscape of aging. The article “Toward a Gender Politics of Aging” by Gemma M. Carney argues for the inclusion of essential political constructs and gender in response to “older, feminized” demographics. Our third featured article advocates for gendered differences in health. Pei-Lin Chen, Ying-Lan Tsai, Mei-Hsiang Lin, and Jeng Wang’s article “Gender Differences in Health-Promotion Behaviors and Quality of Life Among Community-Dwelling Elderly,” is an example of research that includes a gendered lens in comparing health-promotion behaviors between aging men and women.
The mission of this publication is aging women, and it has a long history of viewing women’s issues from multiple perspectives. Adopting a gendered framework for exploring and studying important topics relevant to aging women not only makes aging pertinent to all of us but highlights the universality of issues relevant to aging women.