As member states and NGOs are gathering at the UN in New York for the 63rd session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), HelpAge International and its partners are calling for universal social protection for vulnerable older women.

Around the world, women are more likely than men to live in poverty throughout their lives, to be disempowered socially and economically, and have their rights denied. Most of the world’s older women struggle to survive and feed their families on very low incomes. They also greatly contribute to communities and economies through their work and care, which is often unrecognised and unpaid.

Increasingly, governments are moving towards universal non-contributory social pensions and there is growing evidence that these are an effective and affordable solution, especially in countries with high levels of poverty and informal employment. They enhance women’s economic autonomy, strengthen their voicethe and agency, and can be an effective way of recognising the value of unpaid work.

In Asia Pacific, the rising number of older women has accentuated the importance of strengthening the systems of social pension in the region. In many countries in Asia, social pensions have made a particularly notable contribution to expanding coverage of pensions to women, for example, as in Thailand, women are more likely than men to receive a social pension (women 17 per cent, men 12.2 per cent).

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