Older, grayer, wrinklier — these are the words that are growing to become more accurate descriptions of our world’s population. And while the world has been approaching senescence, a myriad of socioeconomic and political issues have straggled by its side, such as the stresses of funding Medicare and Social Security programs seen in the United States. 

In general, aging connotes a very negative image of a people unable to take care of itself, individuals who piggyback off their young, laidback folks waiting around while their peers drop like flies. 

But this recent phenomenon of a graying world should be one we embrace, because while we charge forward in these upcoming decades, we will likely reap the benefits of a wiser society more conscious of social issues such as gender equality. 

But first, allow me to run through some numbers that will really put in perspective the exact nature of this over-65 population burst: 

– According to a report released last October by the United Nations Population Fund and HelpAge International, people over 65 years of age represent the fastest growing demographic in the world. Within a decade, the number of older people will reach 1 billion, surpassing the number of people under 15 years old. 

– Today, 8.2 percent of the world’s population (currently at 7 billion) constitutes 65-plus-year-olds. In 2050, they will make up 16.7 percent of the 9 billion people in the world, according to estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau. In America, 65-plus-year-olds represent about 13 percent of the population; that number is expected to grow to 21.6 percent by 2050. 

While your mind explodes, consider these facts on decreasing birth rates, another trend that walks hand-in-hand with the booming older generation:

– In the United States, 2011 marked the lowest birth rate in  recorded history, at 63.2 births per 1,000 women of childbearing age, whereas in 1957, that number was double (the peak of the U.S. birth rate, during the midst of the baby boom).

– In Japan, retailers sell more adult diapers than baby diapers. Enough said.

It’s astonishing just how quickly the world’s age demographics have changed, but it’s a reflection of the world embracing equality of genders and changing societal norms. The pressure women have felt for millennia to have many children as physically, or not physically, as possible has been largely alleviated in developed societies. 

Women will wait until their 30s to have kids. And maybe they will not have any at all. The culmination of these factors, alongside increased life expectancy, can be attributed to the boom in older folks.

Right now, the most challenging hurdle people recognize in accommodating an older population will be maintaining a productive labor force. The ongoing recession seems to be putting an increasing number of both older and younger work force participants out of a job. But within the older generation workers, we’ve been seeing an increasing number of female participants — another signal of changing times for women’s rights worldwide. 

Today, older people are less likely to participate in the labor force than they were 50 years ago. In 1950, 1 out of 3 people aged 65 or over was in the labor force. In 2000, this decreased to little less than 1 in 5, according to the report released by the United Nations on world aging.

But because the participation in the labor force for older generations has dropped faster among men than women, the female share of the labor force has significantly increased — most especially in developed regions, like America. In 1950, 26 percent of the workers aged 65 or over were women worldwide, whereas in 2000, women represented 29 percent in less developed regions and 41 percent in more developed regions, according to the report.

Major obstacles will be faced as the shift from a younger to older people takes place, but the teeming number of our older counterparts may be the beacon of effective change in our society’s views on gender equality.

Nora is a senior in LAS. She can be reached [email protected]. Follow her @NoraAIbrahim.