Copyright 7996 by
The Cerontological Society of America
The Gerontologist
Vol. 36, No. 2,147-156
Incorporating diverse experiences into gerontological theory, research, and practice is
necessary for understanding the lives of all old people, and not only "special groups." I begin
by explaining how incorporating diversity exposes the power relations constitutive of lived
experiences. Using examples from retirement research, I demonstrate that starting with the
voices of those with less power renders a more complete view of social reality. Further, a
wider understanding of aging in the United States mandates that we move to the
international-comparative level. This enables us to more closely scrutinize the often
unquestioned structural and ideological processes that construct divergent aging experiences
as well as to conceptualize alternatives. I conclude, then, by noting that a more inclusive
approach forces us to see all aging experiences not as determined but rather as fluid,
dialectical, contextual — and changeable through human actions.
Key Words: International-comparative, Inclusion, Power relations
Incorporating Diversity: Meaning, Levels
of Research, and Implications for Theory1
Toni M. Calasanti, PhD2
In the last several years, "productive aging" has
become a rallying cry for many gerontologists. However, "while almost everyone... seems to have heard
and talked about productive aging and may have
formed some opinions about it, does anyone really
know what it means?" An affirmative answer still does
not imply any shared understanding, as productive
aging "frequently means many different things to as
many different people" (Robinson, 1994; p. 33).
So too has been the fate of "diversity." Alternately
upheld and vilified, it has often served as a banner to
be adopted or rejected more on the basis of expedience or politics than shared understanding. While it
will neither be a panacea for all social ills nor result in
reverse discrimination, incorporating diversity into
theory and research is, I believe, critical for enhancing the quality of life of all old people.
My present goal, then, is to consider, first, what it
means to do research which incorporates diversity,
and the importance of doing so. Next, I will discuss
some ways diversity has been and could be incorporated into aging research. Here, I will focus on the
power relations most commonly explored in the literature to date — predominantly racial/ethnic, gender,
and class relations. I will begin by comparing diverse
groups within the United States, and then move to a
discussion of the international-comparative level and
old people's experiences across diverse welfare
1
My sincere thanks go to my colleagues, Anna Zajicek, who commented
on an earlier draft, and Rachel Parker-Gwin, with whom I discussed my
thoughts. I am also grateful to Andrea Willson and especially Barbara
Townley for their help in manuscript preparation. Finally, I would like to
acknowledge the support of Jill Grigsby, Jon Hendricks, Stephen J. Cutler,
and Annamarie.
2
Address correspondence to Dr. Toni M. Calasanti, Department of Sociology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 660 McBryde Hall,
Blacksburg, VA 24061-0137.
Vol. 36, No. 2,1996
147
states. I will argue that gathering information on other
countries uncovers structural and ideological processes which influence diverse aging and retirement
experiences in the United States. Finally, I will discuss
some of the implications that including diversity suggests for theorizing about aging.
Many theoretical perspectives speak to diversity. I
will draw from feminist theories and research, particularly socialist-feminism, an approach I have
treated more thoroughly elsewhere (Calasanti &
Zajicek, 1993). While many of the ideas I present
below are not unique to this perspective, areas of
divergence may well exist. Throughout my discussion, I will be referring to similarities and differences among and within different populations, as it
is through such comparison that both the existence
and the social construction of diversity are revealed.
And, for clarity and simplicity's sake, prior to my
discussion of the international-comparative level, I
will focus on the United States. Finally, while my
comments apply to the field of aging in general, my
examples will mainly draw from, and relate to, the
work/retirement relationship.
The Meaning and Importance of Incorporating Diversity
Understanding the importance of incorporating
diversity into aging research requires disentangling
the word "diversity" from its various uses. For myriad, often political reasons, it has been widely
adopted in sometimes atheoretical or contradictory
manners. As a result, "diversity" is often devoid of
theoretical meaning. This lack of conceptual clarity
adversely affects knowledge and practice, as studies
are rendered incomparable, or debates rage based
upon miscommunication. Certainly, this has been
true of other concepts. Gender, for example, has
been — and continues to be — used to refer, variously, to essential sex differences, or women, or
power relations. The differences among these meanings are enormous yet rarely made explicit.
Diversity or Heterogeneity?
Much confusion could be alleviated if we clearly
distinguished between diversity and heterogeneity.
Because both indicate differences among the old,
there is a tendency to use these terms interchangeably. However, while they often focus on the same
phenomena, diversity and heterogeneity represent
different lenses and actually connote disparate
sources of variations.
For example, gerontologists caution against generalizing to all those aged 65 and over as this population typically represents a 40-year age range: a potentially heterogenous group. Similarly, attempts to
counteract ageism or ageist stereotypes often point
to the heterogeneity of the old. In this context, when
we warn that group stereotypes cannot be assumed
to fit some or even most individuals, or that individuals "age" at different rates, we are talking about
heterogeneity, not diversity. Heterogeneity, then,
refers to individual-level variation.
By contrast, diversity, discussed more thoroughly
below, refers to examining groups in relation to
interlocking structural positions within a society. No
doubt, some of the confusion surrounding these
concepts is due to their interrelatedness. Certainly,
heterogeneity among individuals may result from
their diverse social locations. Further, awareness of
individual differences — heterogeneity — within a
particular racial/ethnic group could point to other
structural sources oi differences, such as gender
relations. Obviously, we need to consider both heterogeneity and diversity, while not conflating the
two. Recognition of the distinction between the two
is emerging, as exemplified in recent attempts to
examine both in relation to families and aging
(Bengtson, Rosenthal, & Burton, 1990).
Content or Approach?
For many gerontologists the term "diversity" has
until recently been equated with "gender," although
among still other researchers, diversity has been
taken to refer only to race/ethnicity. Empirical and
theoretical challenges provided by women of color
(such as hooks, 1981; Thornton-Dill, 1983, among
others), have led to the recognition of multiple bases
of social privilege and inequality (Collins, 1990), including race/ethnicity, class, and, recently, sexual
orientation. However, what is involved in recognizing diversity on these and other grounds is often still
unclear.
A pervasive view is that incorporating diversity
entails focusing on the situation, special problems,
or experiences of some "special group." That is,
diversity is taken to be synonymous with the content
of a study. Indeed, a common justification for choosing research questions related to diverse groups has
been allusion to their relative neglect in previous
148
research. While descriptions of neglected groups are
vital to knowledge formation, this does not address
some critical, basic questions. Why has this group
been neglected? And why does this matter? Why be
concerned about, for example, racial/ethnic groups
or relations in the first place? At issue is not merely
"does race matter," but rather why membership in
one racial/ethnic group rather than another matters.
The answer cannot simply refer to socioeconomic
correlates, or any others, for that matter; statistical
relationships are only that and nothing more. Both
African Americans and Mexican Americans have relatively high risks of poverty in retirement; if the importance of race/ethnicity is its relation to socioeconomic states, then why investigate these two groups
separately? And why not just examine socioeconomic status?
Certainly, research that is sensitive to diversity
involves comparison. However, examining similarities and differences across and within groups is only
the method. Incorporating diversity involves more
than content, or comparison. It provides a theoretical framework that is built upon the experiences of a
particular group or groups as they are situated in the
web oi interlocking power relations. It therefore also
involves theorizing about underlying relations. What
I am suggesting, then, is a subtle but critical distinction in how we examine and interpret differences in
our theories and research. Merely positing that the
experiences of a racial/ethnic group are "different"
places them in the category of "other" — a special
"deviant" case — with the dominant group serving as
the often unacknowledged "norm." By contrast, addressing why groups diverge places the dominant
group in relation to oppressed racial/ethnic groups,
and all in relation to one another. For instance, all are
seen to "have race" — "white" is also a "color" —
and the experiences of one is understood only as it
relates to the experiences of others.
For example, looking only at whites' experiences
provides an incomplete view of retirement. Examining African Americans' experiences of retirement by
seeing if they "match" those of whites tells us if and
when they are "not white" but does not tell us what
they are. Incorporating diversity, then, first requires
that we investigate various racial/ethnic groups from
their standpoint, privileging their knowledge (Andersen, 1995). When, how, and why oppressed
groups differ is invisible when viewed through a
privileged lens. Interpreting African American men's
experiences from a typically white, middle-class,
men's view of a work/retirement dichotomy or a
"career" would not reveal that many working-class,
African American men self-identify as disabled (Gibson, 1987). The second step, using the knowledge of
racial/ethnic groups derived in this manner to compare to whites, exposes the racial/ethnic dynamics
which shape aging experiences, including previously
invisible aspects of the privileged group's experiences. For instance, it would reveal that whites' ability to identify as either retired or still in the labor
force rests squarely upon the often unintentioned
but structured domination of those racial/ethnic
The Gerontologist
groups who have occupied secondary jobs, worked
in the informal economy, provided cheap reproductive labor, and so on. Thus, critical aspects of the
retirement matrix in general would be missed if we
did not consider the racial/ethnic relations revealed
when we include the experiences of oppressed
groups.
Further, attending to African Americans' voices
better illuminates racial/ethnic relations than listening to whites'. The oppressed are far more aware of
the lives and views of the privileged, as social institutions express these, and of the processes through
which dominance is maintained than vice-versa. The
"outsider" is more able to see that which the " i n sider" takes for granted (Andersen, 1993; Collins,
1986).
Incorporating diversity, then, ultimately means
broadening our knowledge of all groups (Andersen,
1993); uncovering and exploring the power relations
constitutive of social reality stems from examining
the similar and different experiences of a variety of
groups. This comparative process is rendered even
more complex by the dynamism and simultaneity of
various power relations. That is, individuals experience their race/ethnicity, gender, class, and sexual
orientation at the same time. For example, my experience as a woman in United States society is simultaneously an experience of being a white woman of a
particular class and sexual orientation. I do not experience my gender first, with my race "added" to this.
Thus, the effect of interlocking power relations on
lives is most aptly described by allusion to a matrix
(Collins, 1990). Privilege on one dimension is not
"cancelled" or negated by oppression on another,
nor are oppressions additive, resulting in "double"
or multiple jeopardy (Markides, Liang, & Jackson,
1990).
The importance of incorporating diversity, then,
rests on the realization that social reality, including
our knowledge of it, is relational. Oppression only
exists to the extent that privilege does, and viceversa; beginning with the experiences of the oppressed is necessary for understanding those who
are privileged, as well. It is not only the case that
what it means to be a woman or a man is constructed
in relation to one another, but embedded within
these dynamic meanings are the inequalities that
define the privilege of one as directly related to the
oppression of the other. As social scientists who seek
to understand social reality as it pertains to aging,
then, we first recognize diverse experiences and
meanings; unpack, or deconstruct, them to discover
the social relations embedded within; and construct
our theories and interventions accordingly. Our subsequent concepts are inclusive; they pertain to the
whole picture, not just part. Incorporating diversity,
then, is synonymous with being inclusive, and I use
these phrases interchangeably.
Finally, using the term "oppressed" or its variants
does not connote victimization or weakness. Instead, as noted above, it indicates a social relationship — to those who are privileged, i.e., possess
unearned advantage by virtue of their social location
Vol. 36, No. 2,1996
149
(Mclntosh, 1993). Thus, privilege also is not synonymous with intentionality.
Below, I provide selective examples from the area
of retirement to help clarify the link between exploring diverse experiences and gaining a more complete knowledge of aging. In this discussion I assume
that the work/retirement relation provides a context
for understanding the retirement process for at least
two reasons. First, the intersection of paid and unpaid labor over the life course shapes subjective and
objective aspects of retirement. Second, the State
and social policies influence such things as the timing of retirement, reentry, sources of retirement
income, and retirement activities. Each of these may
vary across diverse groups.
Diversity Within the United States
and Knowledge Construction
Often, when we examine the influence of social
structures and ideologies on aging experiences, we
look to aging policy. In relation to retirement, for
instance, an appropriate focus has been on retirement income policies and programs, such as the
initial Social Security legislation and subsequent
amendments, mandatory retirement laws, and regulations concerning age discrimination in employment. To a lesser extent, gerontologists have also
considered workplace legislation and policies which,
while not directed specifically at older workers, have
an obvious impact. These might include mandates
concerning types and amounts of benefits employers
must provide; laws concerning part-time, temporary, and other forms of employment that are not
full-time, year-round; and policies which influence
labor supply in general.
Incorporating diversity broadens this focus considerably by making us aware that while such policies
create barriers and opportunities for older workers
and retirees, both the form and extent of their impact
can vary considerably across diverse groups. Further,
to understand these disparate effects often requires
examining the influence of these and other policies
over the life course. This latter point is not novel or
unique to exploring diversity. However, sensitivity to
oppressed groups shifts our focus to policies that we
might otherwise ignore in relation to retirement as
they do not seem to relate to the experiences of
white, middle-class men (such as child-care provision
or welfare legislation related to families). Equally important, it also makes us aware that, in fact, such
policies do influence the work and retirement experiences of white, middle-class men. Child-care policies
that restrict or enhance women's labor force participation influence men in myriad ways, facilitating or
constraining their possibilities, in both the workplace
and the home. Similarly, welfare legislation that limits
or opens opportunities to engage in paid labor or to
types of jobs is shaped by, and in turn shapes, race,
class, or gender relations by challenging or maintaining workplace or familial practices.
Disparate retirement experiences point to processes through which gender, class, and racial/ethnic
relations can affect objective and subjective aspects.
To illustrate, I provide just a few examples of similar
and different retirement experiences as these
emerge among groups variously situated with the
matrix of power relations. I begin by examining retirement in relation to some aspects of labor market
experiences, broadening my focus to include domestic labor when I discuss more subjective dimensions. I then discuss some explanations of diverse
retirement experiences that examine power relations
and the State.
Diverse Retirement Experiences
Examining "objective" aspects of diverse retirement experiences exposes the gender, class, and
racial/ethnic relations embedded therein. Beginning
with gender relations, labor market inequality, such
as the low wages that typically accompany "women's
jobs," is reflected in the financial aspects of women's
retirement. As of December 1994, retired men received an average monthly Social Security benefit of
$785.24; same-status women garnered only $601.26
(Social Security Administration, 1995). Further, women's dependence on men, embedded in the Social
Security Act (Rodeheaver, 1987), persists. The reproduction of gender relations in the family — and
heterosexual norms — are apparent in the observation that the combined benefits of dual earners still
fall below those of male single-earner families of the
same annual income (Burkhauser & Smeeding, 1994).
Finally, women are far less likely to receive pensions
than men (Quadagno & Harrington Meyer, 1990).
Considering the intersection of gender and race/
ethnicity is even more revealing. In 1993, white men
averaged $772.50 in monthly Social Security benefits
compared to $588.60 for white women (Social Security Administration, 1994). Black men, who averaged
$627.30 a month, were in a financial position similar
to many white women; low wages received in secondary market occupations depress retirement incomes (Gibson, 1987; Social Security Administration,
1994). Exploring this similarity can expose particular
interactions of racial/ethnic, class, and gender relations. A still different configuration of privilege/
oppression is indicated by women's common and
divergent retirement experiences. For example,
white women have lower poverty rates than African
American women due, in part, to their historical
ability to exploit women of color (Glenn, 1992). In
fact, African American women's average monthly
Social Security benefits, $508.50 (Social Security Administration, 1994), are substantially less than white
women's, despite their longer employment histories
(Belgrave, 1988). In addition, both African Americans
and Hispanics of either gender are less likely to
receive pension benefits than white women (Gibson
& Burns, 1991).
At a macro level, the recent bouts of recession and
unemployment in the United States have influenced
retirement decisions and resources of all. Old displaced workers remained unemployed longer than
their younger counterparts and also received lower
150
median weekly earnings when reemployed than they
received in their prior job (Herz, 1990; Love & Torrence, 1989; Rodeheaver, 1990). Diversity existed
among displaced workers, however. People of color
experienced higher unemployment rates than
whites; men of both races were more likely to be
rehired than women; white women fared better than
their African American counterparts (Amott & Matthaei, 1991; Gibson & Burns, 1991; Kletzer, 1991;
Zsembik & Singer, 1990).
While undoubtedly critical to retirees' lives, objective indicators, such as pension levels, do not tell us
how they affect experiences. The "subjective" aspect
of retirement involves retirees' construction of their
lives: the descriptions, the interpretations, the
meanings they attach to their experiences. In the
wake of such phenomena as labor force reentry,
researchers have become increasingly concerned
with what constitutes retirement (Ekerdt & DeViney,
1990). Interestingly, the general approach seems to
be to derive "objective" indicators that approximate
some type of " f i t " between such things as hours
worked, part-time employment, temporary employment and the like, and a taken-for-granted notion of
retirement.
Considering the ways diverse groups construct
their retirement is critical in this regard. Gibson
(1987, 1991) has already demonstrated that workingclass black men do not identify themselves as retired
as readily as their white counterparts. The "markers"
white men use to form their "retired" identity are not
as available. The life-long labor force instability that
working-class, African American men experience
blurs the work/retirement dichotomy. It also reduces
the likelihood and amount of Social Security and
pension receipt, two other "indicators" of retirement. Mexican American men and women share a
similar propensity in this regard, no doubt partly due
to their similar labor force experiences. At the same
time, Mexican American men and women differ from
one another, with men more likely to call themselves
retired if they receive retirement income, while
women tend to identify themselves in relation to
their activities (Zsembik & Singer, 1990).
These divergent identities raise a number of related issues. First, they challenge the utility of trying
to measure "retirement" along the "usual" dimensions. Second, they point to the exclusivity of the
concept itself, as it assumes white, middle-class
men's experiences: a stable work history, one that
has a clear beginning and end, and is followed by
retirement income. Overall, then, these discrepant
identities question the notion of retirement itself. If,
for example, researchers find a statistically significant " f i t , " what then would retirement mean?
My own research (Calasanti, 1993) suggests that
white men and women both view retirement as "freedom from labor." Yet, what it means to equate retirement with freedom diverged, again revealing the matrix of power relations embedded within. To
illustrate: Walter typified many of the men I interviewed. A white, working-class retiree, Walter described how much he enjoyed his opportunities to
The Gerontologist
engage in new activities in the home. He learned to
paint pictures by watching television shows; he began to produce his own wine. He especially liked to
experiment with cooking when the mood struck him.
White, working-class retired women's expressions
of freedom were similar to Walter's in that they
conveyed a feeling of happiness with their expanded
choices. At the same time, significant differences
emerged. For instance, both Annie and Lois noted
that they no longer felt that they had to do laundry on
a particular day. Still others said that being retired
meant they no longer had to stay up late at night to
finish housework. As Lorraine put it, before she
retired, her life was "rush, rush, rush;" in retirement, she could, "take my time . . . . I don't have to
rush" (Calasanti, 1993. p. 144).
In terms of their activities, these retirees were all
engaged in domestic labor. But for Walter, his work
was a matter of choice: while he might now define
himself as a cook, he could choose to cook or not,
without any obligation. In contrast, women's experiences of freedom were interpreted in terms of their
double burden: experiencing less stress as, having
lost one job, they had more time for the other.
"Choice" for these retirees meant being free to select a different day to do domestic tasks (Calasanti,
1993).
In these examples, white, working-class men and
women experienced retirement in similar and different ways. Similar expressions of freedom could well
reflect their common class position; exploring disparities in what freedom meant to each uncovered
the gender relations which define women as workers
in the domestic realm. What is critical is not only that
such disparities exist but understanding why they
exist. One source of explanation is presented below.
Diversity: Theorizing Retirement Experiences
at the State Level
Numerous social scientists have identified structural and ideological mechanisms through which the
contemporary United States welfare state incorporates, reproduces, and reshapes power relations. A
long tradition of political economic and Marxist investigations has concentrated on uncovering class
relations, lately becoming more attuned to the contradictory nature of structural and cultural factors,
historical context, and human agency (Quadagno &
Fobes, 1995). Gerontologists too have found the lens
of political economy to yield fruitful insights into the
relationships among the State, classes, and aging
(Estes, 1979; Myles, 1984). More recently, feminists
and others have looked at the interactions between
the welfare state and gender or racial/ethnic relations
as well as the intersections of these power relations
and class (for example, Orloff, 1993; Quadagno,
1994; Quadagno & Fobes, 1995). Although gerontologists have only recently discussed the need to examine aging within the context of a gendered and
racialized State (Estes, 1991), promising analyses
have begun to emerge, directing attention to the
effects of /naction — steps not taken — as well as
State actions (Harrington Meyer, 1994).
Vol. 36, No. 2,1996
151
Differences in men's and women's retirement experiences can be traced to androcentric and capitalist notions of work and production, as well as traditional ideas about the private sphere embedded in
Social Security (Calasanti, 1993). Because production
was defined as that which white, middle-class men
do — paid work — reproductive labor was not the
basis for calculating Social Security (Quadagno &
Harrington Meyer, 1990; Scott, 1991). A similar androcentric bias, unchallenged by the State, helps
explain why women are less likely to receive pensions: pension rules "naturally" reflect men's work
and family lives, thereby penalizing women for reproductive labor (Quadagno, 1988). Yet, men's freedom to engage in paid labor generally depends upon
women's reproductive activities (Smith, 1987). Further, when the concept of productivity is expanded
to include unpaid labor, research shows that women
spend more time than men in productive activities
throughout their lives (Calasanti & Bonanno, 1992;
Herzog et al., 1989). As a consequence of the restricted meaning of production, however, women
receive lower Social Security benefits.
Similarly, racial/ethnic and class relations were
codified in the initial Social Security legislation which
excluded occupations most often found among the
poor and working classes and people of color. For
example, farm and domestic service work, lowwaged areas in which large numbers of racial/ethnic
women found employment, were not covered until
the 1950 and 1954 revisions to the Social Security Act
(Amott & Matthaei, 1991; Scott, 1991). Further, as
noted above, Social Security benefits assume the
stable work histories most characteristic of white,
middle-class men.
These disparities, based on industrial and occupational segregation and low earnings, have been further reinforced by State actions. The Job Corps, for
instance, an anti-poverty program of the 1960s, ostensibly challenged power relations while simultaneously incorporating structural and ideological
processes that reproduced the intersections of particular gender, class, and racial/ethnic inequities.
Young African American men's job training provided
some basis for challenging traditional labor market
discrimination, but their female counterparts were
taught skills that kept them firmly ensconced in paid
and unpaid forms of domestic labor (Quadagno &
Fobes, 1995).
Interestingly, when the intersections of gender
and race/ethnicity are examined, the gender difference in productivity holds across whites and African
Americans. Women in both groups engage in more
productive labor, although the overall configuration
of factors leading to such activity varies across racial/
ethnic groups. Significantly, white men have the
greatest number of enabling resources, yet they engage in less productive activity than black men or
women of either racial/ethnic group (Danigelis &
Mclntosh, 1993). But because of the power relations
embedded within Social Security, benefits actually
reflect the reverse of these productivity levels.
Divergent retirement experiences reveal class dy-
namics and their complex and contradictory relation
to the State. For instance, some point to the continued labor of retirees as an important indicator of
"productive aging" (Robinson, 1994). However, retirees' experiences of this labor suggest that it is not
necessarily the boon — either to them or society —
that is typically portrayed. The reasons retirees give
for employment, as well as the amount and type of
"choice" they have in this regard, reflect the divergent social positions they occupy within the matrix of
power relations. At the same time, these choices and
activities are filtered through contradictory power
relations at the State level (Calasanti & Bonanno,
1992). For example, the class dynamics involved in
reentry into paid labor are evident in the types of
jobs the old obtain. The well-publicized professional
positions comprise the experiences of some, but the
relatively low average hourly wages of "working retirees" testify to the job experience of the majority
(lams, 1987). Gender and racial/ethnic relations further intersect with class, as women have greater
difficulty finding employment; gendered occupational segregation is reproduced; and white and African American working-class men and Chicano men
and women appear to be most likely to reenter
(Boaz, 1987; Gibson, 1987,1991; lams, 1987; Zsembik
& Singer, 1990).
Contradictory power relations at the State level are
implicated in the formal and informal labor experiences of retirees in numerous ways; here I elucidate
just a few. The gendered, racialized, and class-based
nature of Social Security benefits helps explain why
working-class and particular racial/ethnic retirees are
more likely to reenter paid labor. Their greater need
for employment also underlies the differences in
retirees' job experiences. Less obviously, class interests are evident in State actions that enable accumulation by facilitating the provision of low-waged labor, an experience in which ageism intersects with
gender, class, and racial/ethnic relations. Legislation
concerning part-time work, wages, and benefits
make cheap labor a possibility; particular groups of
old, defined by their marginalized social locations,
are likely to be involved in its actualization. Further,
the provision of minimal financial protection
through Social Security and Supplemental Security
Income makes minimum- or low-waged employment
more viable, especially in combination with meanstesting. At the same time, "cheap labor" is a relative
term; if legislation allows employers to side-step
certain benefits, they could pay wages well above the
minimum and still realize lower labor costs. This
helps explain the ability of more privileged groups of
retirees to engage in "consulting" or other higherpaid jobs that give them "extra money" they can use
to maintain status (Calasanti & Bonanno, 1992). From
this perspective, the State might be depicted as subsidizing low-waged labor and reproducing oppressive relations. Similarly, the extent of the informal
economy, who participates, and what services and
products are provided are greatly affected by the
State and the power relations therein.
As I hope my examples have shown, analyzing
152
diverse aging experiences within the United States
reveals critical, previously hidden dimensions of social reality. Uncovering still other aspects rests on
our ability to go beyond our taken-for-granted notions of the State itself. This challenge is facilitated by
examining diverse experiences at the international
level.
Diversity and Knowledge: International-level
Comparisons
What it means to incorporate diversity at the international level does not change so much as it becomes broader, involving additional analyses. It
builds upon the widely acknowledged value of crosscultural research (Keith, 1990; Streib & Binstock,
1990), bringing a particular theoretical dimension to
this comparative approach: a sensitivity to power
relations both within and across countries. This implies two different units of analysis: diverse experiences within nations, my focus here, and states as
they exist in a global context.
Diversity and the State: International Comparisons
To uncover further connections between the
State, power relations, and experiences of aging in
the United States, it is important to examine variations across unique political economies. Parallel to
my earlier discussion, the United States cannot serve
as the implicit " n o r m " against which other nations
are compared. What is at stake is not only the problem of "judging" diverse structures and processes,
but missing them altogether. Numerous studies of
Middle Eastern society, for example, have typically
portrayed women as having little power. However,
because these investigations use Western, patriarchal notions of power and political activities and
structures, researchers had missed the informal and
familial-based forms of power wielded by women in
these societies (Coles, 1990).
Further, fruitful international comparisons are
contingent upon sensitivity to power relations within
a country prior to cross-national comparisons. These
relations themselves needn't be the research focus,
but analysis should include them. For example,
Zelkovitz (1990) examines different class relations,
among other factors, to understand why and how
Swedish aging policy avoids the "conservative bias"
of other Western welfare states, such as the United
States. His initial attention to the Swedish welfare
system, without reference to others, allows him to
uncover its "transformative" nature. Through comparison with the United States, he then demonstrates the vital importance of strong working-class
representation in generating this policy posture.
Similarly, Coles' (1990) work has broadened the
concept of power and its sources by uncovering the
informal channels through which aging Hausa
women in Nigeria exercise power. Further, she demonstrates that men's and women's power exist in
relation to one another. Finally, she indicates the
intersection of class and gender, noting that while
The Gerontologist
wealth may increase a woman's power, it is not the
only basis for it.
Considering diversity challenges us to (re)examine
our assumptions concerning what actually constitutes a welfare state, and how this relates to actual
and potential aging experiences of different groups.
For example, in the Czech Republic, the move toward a capitalist welfare state means less social
spending: a retraction of government support. An
economic adviser to the Czech parliament spoke to
the difficulties such policy changes entail for the
government, as the Czech people were "used to a
generous society." She further noted that the "old in
particular say they don't like capitalism so well" (Prochazkova, 1994). For them, a welfare state is a "conservative" structure that is increasingly denying them
their due as citizens of that country.
Essentially, exploring the power relations embedded in diverse aging experiences in other countries
and comparing these to the United States renders at
least two critical and related insights. First, it uncovers otherwise hidden processes of the present welfare state: aspects that are taken for granted or seen
as intractable, including the ways in which systems of
inequality are structured into its present workings.
Importantly, this also opens up a wider range of
alternatives to the status quo. Second, international
variations in the expression of power relations forcibly remind us of their socially constructed nature at
all levels of society, including the State. This also
gives us the tools to unpack discourses supporting
inequality, including those supportive of cuts in social spending for the old in general or particular
groups of old.
Below, I offer my own and others' observations to
demonstrate how international comparisons — examining diversity within and then across nations —
offer critical insights into the dynamics through
which power relations can influence retirement experiences.
Diversity and International Comparisons: Retirement
in Central Eastern Europe
Exploring the impact of German reunification on
the former East German women's pensions demonstrates the effects of different patriarchal forms on
gendered retirement experiences. In the former East
Germany, the extant political economy made the
worker identity central. This identity remained maledefined despite the large numbers of women in the
paid labor force. To simultaneously address labor
shortages and a declining birth rate, contradictory
policies developed to encourage women to combine
work and motherhood. However, the work-related
maternity "benefits" served to define and reinforce
domestic labor as women's alone, thereby increasing
their double burden. Further, the "special" treatment women received based on their domestic obligations also provided legitimation for workplace inequality (Ferree, 1993). In essence, within the
work-centered society, women were penalized for
their family status, and their workplace-defined penVol. 36, No. 2,1996
153
sions were relatively meager, given their predominantly low earnings. But they were also relatively
uniform: the range was minimal. With unification
and consequent changes that occurred under West
German law, this range has increased dramatically.
The greater disparities among former East German
women is based on marital status: the patriarchal
(and heterosexist) basis of West German law rewards
women for marriage through higher pensions (Allmendinger, 1994).
These different pension experiences graphically
illustrate varying intersections of patriarchy and political economies. Still other intersections of class
and gender relations might well be revealed in comparing recent changes in Germany with another
Western, advanced capitalist country. For instance,
the assumption has been that State fiscal crises
within such countries have led to welfare "retrenchment." Yet, partly in response to workers' pressure,
Germany recently expanded provisions for care of
the old, a task most often the purview of women.
The welfare expansion in Germany certainly challenges the "truism" that welfare state fiscal crises in
general, and in the United States in particular, are
largely a result of expenditures for "too many old."
Further, numerous scholars have questioned this
link, pointing to nations with demographic profiles
similar to the United States but greater social spending for the old and strong economies (Butler, 1989).
Examining some of the Central Eastern European
countries pushes this challenge even further, standing the assumed connection between provision for
an aging population and economic crisis on its head.
Both the Czech Republic and Poland, among others, face enormous economic problems in providing
pensions and other social programs for the old
(Laczko, 1994). Yet, these countries are younger than
Western nations (Velkoff & Kinsella, 1993). Of more
importance than age in the Polish and Czech cases
are the large numbers of pensioners, spurred by the
increase in early retirement (Laczko, 1994). While the
United States is experiencing a similar trend, the
reasons for this phenomenon, as well as its gendered
nature, show significant cross-national divergence.
Throughout Central Eastern Europe, the age for
full pension eligibility is significantly lower than in
the United States. The one exception is Poland,
where men must wait until age 65. But prior to 1989,
the Polish communist government encouraged early
retirement to maintain full employment levels and
depress wages. As an inducement, retirees faced no
earnings tests; further, years of continued work
were factored into future pension levels (Laczko,
1994). Additionally, gender relations in the domestic
realm and pro-natalist policies resulted in women's
ability to collect full pensions at age 60, five years
sooner than men, in "recognition" of their reproductive labor. Similar gender relations in the Czech
Republic, where men can retire at 60, allow women
who are childless to retire at age 57; one year is
subtracted for each child born, up to four children.
In these countries, then, the "burden of the o l d " on
the welfare state is not as much a demographic phe-
nomenon as a situation constructed by the State for
political economic reasons (Calasanti & Zajicek,
1994). The fiscal problems faced by these countries
arise from the intersections of the contradictions
within their gendered political economies and ageism : the gendered "use" of old workers and retirees
to maintain some aspects of the political economic
system is negated by others. Similar conclusions
based on divergent contexts have been made in
relation to advanced capitalist nations of the West
(Estes, 1979; Myles, 1984).
Comparing the similar and different bases for
these assertions by exploring cross-national diversity
both broadens our conception of political economy
and sensitizes us to historical context, thereby maintaining a dynamic nature to our explanations. Importantly, it also enables us to deconstruct the rhetoric
surrounding such issues as "the burden of the o l d "
within a society. This is critical as such discourses
define reality in such a way that possible "solutions"
to "problems" are also delimited.
While cross-national comparisons enable some
level of generalization, sensitivity to diversity prohibits formulations of "templates" that can be placed
upon particular "types" of countries to "explain"
aging experiences. Inability to derive such templates
is, perhaps, disheartening to some. However, the
dynamism and existence of variation points as well to
the malleability of structure and ideology: to human
agency and the always-present possibility of change.
Discussion: Incorporating Diversity
and Theorizing About Retirement and Aging
As the previous examples illustrate, incorporating
diversity reveals — or reinforces — several critical,
related points about social aspects of retirement and
aging that have a bearing on how we theorize these
phenomena. First, they indicate the importance of
context. The same observation — such as the extent
to which women engage in paid labor — can simultaneously tell us similar and very different things about
gender relations. For instance, Central Eastern European women who "return to the home" may well be
oppressed. However, understanding the historical
context renders a somewhat different reading of
their return to domesticity: an act of resistance
against the oppression of being "forced" to work for
pay — it was the State's decision to "grant equality"
to women by employing them, and not the result of a
grassroots movement — and carry a double burden.
This relates to the second critical point — the
importance of agency. Welfare states, ideologies, or
other institutionalized forms of power relations are
not deterministic; people's actions can and do dramatically alter the roots and outcomes of these relations (Quadagno & Fobes, 1995). Indeed, this underlies the wide variation in experiences across groups
and societies at any given point in time. The interaction between patriarchal ideology and structure in
the Czech Republic was such that virtually the same
"human capital" reasons were given to account for
the similar gender gap in wages there as are given in
154
the United States: women workers possess the
wrong kinds or levels of skill, and their family obligations result in lower productivity. Yet, this explanation was given to justify the low pay of medical
doctors — an occupation in which Czech women
constitute the majority — and secretaries (Prochazkova, 1994).
The third point that examining diversity reveals is
the dialectical nature of structures and ideologies.
That is, they are dynamic and contradictory processes which significantly influence life-long experiences and retirement. Polish women's domestic return is an act of resistance and liberation; it is
simultaneously oppressive, induced by capitalist and
patriarchal ideologies and structures. It reinforces
their economic dependence on men, and further
limits their future options, especially in retirement
(Calasanti & Zajicek, 1994). Similarly, poverty among
the old in Central Eastern Europe is on the rise and
will increasingly be a "woman's problem." Women
in these countries receive lower pensions based on
their lower wages and the contradictions within State
pension policies. In the Czech Republic, the early
retirement "reward" that women's reproduction
earns carries a simultaneous penalty. Men retiring at
age 60 can receive a maximum of 67% of their previous earnings. Women retiring at 57 can only receive 64% of their (already relatively lower) earnings.
Their further "reward" for childbearing, the ability to
retire one year sooner for each child, reduces this
percentage: 63% for 1 child, 60% for 2, and so on.
Fourth, considering diversity is geared toward uncovering dimensions of social reality otherwise obscured by power relations; it is not a form of "victimology." That is, incorporating diversity is neither
an effort to place groups on some sort of grid to
decipher "who is most oppressed" nor does it seek
to portray different groups as passive victims. If reality is dialectical, then situations and human actions
have both oppressive and liberatory potential. Thus,
if we are truly sensitive to diverse experiences, we
will not only uncover forms of resistance but we will
also, again, be compelled to foreground context.
Context helps explain when and how one aspect
might be more prevalent. For example, the oppressive situation for old Czech women also contains
elements of potential strength. Given the child-care
crisis, one of the few areas of informal labor open to
these old women — care of grandchildren — represents a potential avenue for maintaining their status
in the family not open to men.
Fifth, incorporating diversity implicitly calls us to
consider the historical context. How and why the
social reality of aging comes to be constituted in a
particular way is contingent upon the confluence of
the dynamics of various power relations at a specific
point in time. Further, as the examples from Central
Eastern Europe make clear, comparisons of similarities and differences in diverse aging experiences
over time are an integral part of understanding the
present constitution of power relations.
Finally, taking the standpoint of diverse groups as
the starting point of our theorizing, as the notion of
The Gerontologist
inclusion requires, returns fluidity to structures and
focuses us on processes. That is, coming face to face
with the contextual, dynamic, and social constructed
aspects of the social world "de-reifies" the State and
other social institutions. Social reality neither consists of deterministic structures nor is it the result of
random processes. Rather, it is constituted by simultaneously dynamic and patterned processes that reconstitute and are shaped by permeable structures.
Essentially, then, incorporating diversity restores the
agentic element often missing from theorizing, without denying or losing sight of structure. Losing the
rigidity that more static notions of social reality assume means that we cannot derive immutable
"truths" about the social aspects of aging or retirement. Instead, our research redirects our attention
to uncovering processes that both maintain inequality and are avenues for change.
Conclusion
Incorporating diversity compels us to begin with
different aging experiences, using these as the basis
for scrutinizing power relations at all levels as these
influence the life course. It thus has the potential to
provide gerontologists the theoretical tools that Marshall (1995) asserts are necessary for understanding
present and future aging experiences.
Incorporating diversity refers to more than content
of a study. It is an approach to social reality that
applies to and benefits all theorizing and research,
including studies dealing with only one group —
even if that group is composed of white, middleclass, heterosexual men in the United States. The
critical difference between research that does and
does not incorporate diversity is not necessarily
which group(s) is investigated, but rather how. Being
sensitive to diversity involves an awareness of lived
experience as embedded in power relations: relations that are constituted by both oppressed and
privileged groups. Because privileged groups have
long served as the "norm," researchers often forget
that their experiences are shaped by the same power
dynamics as those who have been oppressed.
Being inclusive does not mandate that all research
focus on differences and similarities across groups or
simultaneously examine all power relations. It does,
however, require acknowledging the unique configuration of a group within the matrix of power relations, being sensitive to the importance of these
cross-cutting relations, and not making undue generalizations. The experiences of black working-class
men, for example, cannot serve as a "proxy" for
black working-class women, nor can the latter serve
as a proxy for "black women of the bourgeoisie"
(Giddings, 1984). At the same time, we can and
should compare similar research across groups; indeed, this is an aspect of theory-building. But we
need to bear other critical social relations in mind or
risk losing critical parts of the picture as well as
hampering theory-building by others.
In understanding diverse experiences within our
own welfare state, I have stressed the importance of
Vol. 36, No. 2,1996
155
international comparison for understanding diversity as it enables us to situate experiences within
variable state structures. The next step would be to
examine diverse experiences within the context of
global power relations. To the extent that the United
States is able to exploit developing countries in particular ways, for example, different groups of elderly
United States citizens will have both the access and
ability to consume certain products. Further, with
economic globalization has come the weakening of
nation-states; increasingly social relations are analyzed within the context of "transnational" states
(Araghi, 1995; Bonanno, 1994). Moving to the global
level enabled Diamond (1992) to indicate the transnational political economic processes that influence
both the race/ethnicity and gender of certified nursing assistants in long-term care institutions in the
United States (Diamond, 1992).
The ideas I have presented concerning diversity
are not themselves new, and many of the issues I
have discussed are quite familiar to some. However,
as we become increasingly specialized — between
"theorists" and "practitioners," between "subareas" within aging, between levels of analyses —
theoretical developments in one area are often not
communicated to others, nor are linkages across
areas as well developed as they could be. My goal,
then, has been to facilitate this dialogue by discussing what diversity means, why it is vital to our efforts
to understand and intervene in aging experiences,
and how we might therefore incorporate this into
our work.
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Received September 17, 1995
Accepted October 6, 1995
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