Gendered late careers in the United States and the United Kingdom: a sequence analysis

Numerous policy reforms in the 21 century have tried to extend working lives without paying enough attention to the gendered nature of late careers. Combining a life-course approach with sequence analysis techniques, this study empirically explores how gendered are late careers in the United States and the United Kingdom. Drawing on data for the last decade from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the English Longitudinal Study on Ageing (ELSA), we identify multiple types of labor force sequences. Preliminary results suggest that labor force sequences five years before and after the legal retirement age are more unstable and diverse for women in the United Kingdom. In contrast, labor force sequences for males are similarly stable and homogenous in both countries. We discuss the policy implications of these results for the financial security and health of both females and males in old age.