Going Solo: findings from a survey of women ageing without a partner and who do not have children

Greater longevity in the UK population has led to the increasing diversity of women experiencing ageing in a multitude of ways. Internationally gender inequalities within ageing are still relatively invisible within both government policy and everyday life for particular groups of women. This paper explores the concept of women growing older ‘solo’ by which we mean women who find themselves non partnered and ageing without children as they move into later life. We report on the findings from a mixed-methods survey of 76 solo women in the UK aged 50 years and over, used to provide a broader overview of the issues and challenges they face as they move into later life. Qualitative data from the survey captured respondents’ perspectives about the links between their relationships status and wellbeing in later life and highlighted specific cumulative disadvantages emerging for some women as a result of their solo lifestyles. We discuss two key themes were identified; ‘solo-loneliness’ and ‘meaningful futures’ in conjunction with the relevant literature and make suggestions for future research within gender and ageing studies that could enhance more positive approaches to solo lifestyles

Stories of intimacy and sexuality in later life: solo women speak

This chapter presents selected findings from a study on the impact of the rise in non-traditional family relationships on ‘successful’ ageing. The focus of which is on Solo women - women who are ‘not-partnered’, without children and who are aged over 50 years and over. Little is known about the life trajectories of Solo women as they move into later life (Darab and Hartman, 2013) and there is a paucity of research seeking to understand their support networks, social connectedness and personal relationships. This chapter draws on selected findings from a study which explores some of the dynamics and issues impacting Solo women in later life using a range of methods including a literature review; demographic analysis, an online survey and interview data. Here we draw principally on the findings from qualitative data from the online survey (see Letchfield et al, 2017) and in-depth interviews with Solo women in England aged 50 years and over. Considered together these findings captured a rich picture of Solo women’s own subjective perspectives about the links between their relationship status and wellbeing in later life - and in this chapter we focus particularly on the findings relating to sexuality and intimacy