Older women in Central Valley face more hardship, health inequities than men | Opinion
Legacy Health Endowment and the UC San Francisco Institute for Health Policy Studies are collaborating on a 2026 report to roadmap the health care manpower needs in Merced and Stanislaus Counties. But local initiatives cannot fix a national cultural landscape where ageism and sexism intersect to render older women invisible in public policy and medical settings.
The subtle, persistent message to the older woman is: You’ve had your turn.
Women in America can expect to live longer than men, but not necessarily better. For millions, longevity has become a liability. As they age, women face a perfect storm of economic hardship, health inequities and caregiving burdens that render them increasingly invisible. Unless the country confronts these structural failures head-on, older women will continue to be the fastest-growing face of American poverty.
The warning signs have been flashing for years; women earn less over their lifetimes and spend more time out of the workforce caring for children or aging parents. According to federal labor data, women retire with roughly 30% less in savings than men. Their Social Security benefits are also lower — typically 20% less — reflecting decades of wage inequality.
By the time a woman reaches retirement age, the math is brutally simple: Less money coming in, more money going out and no buffer when life goes sideways. According to the Treasury Department, women over 65 are significantly more likely to live in poverty than men, a disparity that widens sharply after age 75.
For women of color, the picture is even more alarming. Data from Mount Saint Mary’s University shows that Black and Latina women face higher lifetime wage gaps and are more likely to work in roles without retirement benefits. Consequently, their poverty rates in old age are nearly double those of white women.
This economic insecurity is compounded by a health care system that often fails women as they age. While women live about five to six years longer than men, those years are often spent managing chronic illness or the physical toll of unpaid labor. The National Partnership for Women and Families reports that nearly two-thirds of family caregivers are women, many of whom sacrificed their own long-term financial security to provide care for others.
The crisis is particularly acute in regions like California’s San Joaquin Valley. In Merced and Stanislaus Counties, “maternity care deserts” are merging with a desperate shortage of geriatric specialists. The Medical Board of California’s 2023 report found only 841 geriatric specialists statewide; just 37 physicians in the Central Valley held geriatric subspecialty certification.
When access to health care shrinks just as the need for it expands, the results are catastrophic.
Older women remain the backbone of the American volunteer and caregiving sectors. They are the voters who show up and the workers who staff classrooms and hospitals that society relies upon.
The question is not whether older women matter, but whether the nation is willing to build systems that reflect that truth.
Valuing these women requires strengthening Social Security, expanding affordable housing and ensuring that long-term care is not a luxury. It means treating the gender pay gap not just as a workplace grievance, but as a retirement-security crisis. Most importantly, it requires a cultural shift. We must recognize that aging is not a personal failure, but a collective achievement.
The women who raised our children and kept our communities afloat deserve more than a precarious old age. They deserve dignity, stability and the freedom to age without fear.
America’s treatment of older women is not just a policy failure; it is a moral one. It is time to fix it.
Jeffrey Lewis is president and CEO of Legacy Health Endowment.
This story was originally published April 26, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Older women in Central Valley face more hardship, health inequities than men | Opinion."