The purpose of Chapter 8 is to examine and apply issues of diversity from a biological, social, gender, cultural, and other factors to the aging experiences of women in the world. If positive aging supports are to be created and implemented in communities and broader societies, it is crucial to better understand the many ways women age over time. It would be unethical for a society to treat all older women as a homogeneous group, and it would be equally detrimental to both society and its aging population to transfer this biased attitude to the creation of “cookie cutter” policies and programs designed for this growing aging subpopulation.
