A pilot research study to explore the quality of life, health, and social capital of older (60+) South Asian women living in Yorkshire

Dr Sharon Wray

This research examines the nature and extent of social capital available to older (60+) British South Asian women living in Yorkshire. It builds on the recognition that older women are not a homogenous group but instead have different resources and capital available to them and face different forms of disadvantage and discrimination. The research considers the extent to which social capital is influenced by inequalities and social injustices experienced across the life course. It also explores how experiences of gender, migration, and ethnicity mediate access to social capital and affect the structuring of informal familial and community networks in later life.  In particular, the cumulative effect of life-course inequalities on the participants lives as they grow older. The research contributes to theoretical issues relating to social capital and methodological concerns about researching across ethnic and cultural diversity. The concept of social capital is problematised and its capacity to explain the experiences of older South Asian women examined.

Project Report