Gender Differentials In The Socio-Economic Well-Being Of Older Persons In Lagos State, Nigeria

Abstract

National and international organizations continue to express concerns on older persons worldwide, and have suggested measures for improving their lives and overall well-being within the framework of sustainable development. Citizenship cannot be assumed to have the same significance for the young and old. A common experience is that of disentitlements of the older persons regarding their person and other rights. Theoretically, older persons are not a homogenous group. It has been observed that the gender of the individual affects access and opportunities to the available old age security system. For a significant proportion of older persons in Nigeria, socio-economic, socio-demographic, and sociocultural factors play important roles in influencing their life- course experiences and overall socio-economic well being in later life. This study focuses on the differentials in the situations and capabilities of older persons in Lagos State rather than viewing them as a homogeneous group. Gender is particularly believed to be implicated in the varying experiences of older persons. Inequalities experienced in earlier life, for example in access to education, employment, and health care, as well as those based on gender which have a critical bearing on status and well being in old age were critically examined. The triangulation method was used for the collection of research information; these include interview method based on the structured questionnaire, focus group discussion method, and In-depth Interview method.The data for the study were collected between November 2005 and March 2006. A multi-stage sampling procedure was adopted to select the respondents included in the study. The data collected were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 10.0. Cross-tabulations of social and economic characteristics were done to allow for a general description of the respondents and their household characteristics. Hypotheses testing were done at two levels, using both the chi-square and logistic regression analysis. Chisquare was used to test the level of significant relationship between independent and dependent variables; while the logistic regression technique was used to determine the net effect of explanatory factors on the probability that the gender of the older persons would influence their overall socio-economic well being. This study found that male and female older persons exhibited differences in socioeconomic well-being in their later lives. The study further found that inequality in personal income and socio-economic well being is influenced by gender and life course experiences. The study also found that, women have experienced a greater increase in life expectancy than men, and because women frequently outlive their husbands, they experience a distinct drop in their standards of living on the death of their spouses because much of their societal access to resources had been channeled through their spouses resulting in the feminization of later life.