According to a study by Emakunde, living alone is "a learning, an opportunity" for many older women

Many older women living alone see their situation as an opportunity for personal growth and a contribution to society, according to a study supported by Emakunde. Also, faced with the stereotype of female loneliness, the study concludes that they need not feel alone. 

The director of Emakunde, Mira Elgarresta, presented this morning in Vitoria-Gasteiz, together with researchers Iratxe Herrero and Carlos Diaz de Argandoña and the Councillor of the Department of Social Policies of the City of Vitoria-Gasteiz, Luis Eduardo Royero, the report "Women of the Basque Country.

Elgarresta has stated that  "For many older women, living alone is a learning, an opportunity, a stage of personal growth; although it includes moments of sadness or loneliness — like any other stage of life — it is considered mostly positive, both among those who have arrived there because of a situation created and among those who have freely chosen it. "

More men than women

Of the total number of persons living alone in the CAE, 32.5 per cent are women aged 65 and over and 75.4 per cent are widows.

The gender influences the social perception of elderly people living alone. In this regard, the study shows that the image of older women living alone is negative in terms of gender and age, and it follows that they experience this situation with sadness, reinforcing a negative stereotype.

In other words, women somehow need social permission to choose their way of life, which determines their quality of life and can increase their vulnerability. 

The research team has identified two challenges that public policies must take on: on the one hand, to recognize the pioneering role of many women who opted for loneliness when they were young, and, on the other, to enable the right of older women to live alone today.