Women on the Front Lines: Meeting the Challenge of an Aging America

Less prescriptive than descriptive, this scholarly survey of the problems women face because of the ``inexorable aging of our population'' presents a sobering picture. From a variety of perspectives the contributing authors to this volume (which arose from a project of the Southport Institute for Policy Analysis in Connecticut) explore such topics as medical care, employment, social roles and status, focusing on diverse socioeconomic groups of aging women. In the U.S., the authors point out, women make up nearly half of the work force, but they also make up the great majority of those involved in unpaid care-giving. This is one among the many complex issues analyzed in chapters whose aim is to provoke new thinking about social norms and provide a base for crtical policy questions and decisions. Allen directs the Southport Institute's Project on Women, and Pifer is the founder and chair of the institute. (Feb.)