GENDER, THE STATE, AND CONSTRUCTING THE OLD AS DEPENDENT - LESSONS FROM THE ECONOMIC TRANSITION IN POLAND

To critically examine the notion of the old as a ''burden'' to society , we use a political economic and gender-sensitive approach to explore the impact of the economic transition in Poland on retirement. Poland is an especially useful case for analyzing ways that divergent politi cal economies shape the aging experiences of men and women, as differe nces between the two systems cannot be attributed to cultural variatio ns. Overall, we find that old-age dependence in Poland is not inevitab le; it is not created in a uniform manner for men and women; and it is not passively accepted by the old. Further, by examining economic act ivities in general, we show that retired men and women have been and a re critical to the viability of both economic systems, albeit in diffe rent ways.