No. 15 - Gender differences in low income

Senior women are considerably more likely than senior men to have low incomes. In 1998, 25% of all women aged 65 and over lived in a low-income situation, compared with 13% of their male counterparts.

The incidence of low income, however, has fallen sharply among both senior women and men in the past decade and a half. Between 1980 and 1998, for example, the share of senior women with low incomes fell from 40% to 25%, while the figure for men dropped from 27% to 13%.

There is a particularly wide gap in the likelihood of unattached senior women and men having low incomes. In 1998, about half of these women (48%) lived in a low-income situation, compared with 35% of unattached senior men. The incidence of low income among both unattached senior women and men, however, has dropped sharply since the early 1980s. Among women, the figure fell from 72% to 48% between 1980 and 1998, while among men it dropped from 61% to 35%.

Percentage of senior men and women with low income, 1980-1998

Source: Statistics Canada