Of the 14 million women in Canada, some 3.7 million are currently between the ages of 40 and 59. For many, it's not easy going.
Contrary to media stereotypes of affluent baby boomers, financial and health problems often occur at midlife. Marriages break up and there are elderly parents to take care of.
"By 2041, one quarter of all women in Canada will be over 65," according to Rosemary Neering and Marilyn McCrimmon's Facing Changes, Finding Freedom: Canadian Women at Midlife (Whitecap $18.95).
For Judy, 56, "it's always been a struggle." Married at twenty and divorced in her early twenties with two young sons, Judy raised her kids on her own, working three jobs. When she moved to Victoria, she assumed she'd end up working in a government office.
"But where did I end up? In a machine shop, where I had to wear long underwear in winter, and Cougars because the steel chips stuck to your shoes, and the language was rough."
When the machine shop was bought out, Judy lost her job. At 54, she had difficulties finding a job because her work experience was antiquated. After taking a UIC sponsored computer course, Judy still had little luck finding a job.
"I'm still looking for jobs from here to Courtenay," Judy says. "The future? I don't look to the future; I don't see any future. I've stopped thinking about the future; I just live day to day."
Living on social assistance is not what Judy had planned, but she remains optimistic. "You can't just sit there and cry about life. I still figure some day my prince will come. I may meet a man I can't live without, or he can't live without me. Or a good job may come tomorrow. Or I could win the lottery."

[BCBW 1997] "Women"