# Cognitive labor and the older learner: a feminist perspective on intellectual work in later life

## TL;DR

This paper explores how older adults, especially women, contribute to intellectual work in informal ways that are often overlooked.

## Contribution

It introduces a feminist gerontological framework to recognize and value the unpaid cognitive labor of older learners.

## Key findings

- Unpaid intellectual work by older adults is a form of cognitive labor that is under-acknowledged.
- Older women play vital but unrecognized roles as intellectual actors in family and community life.
- The paper challenges deficit narratives of aging and suggests new directions for research and policy.

## Abstract

This conceptual article advances a feminist gerontological perspective on the intellectual and emotional labor of older adults—particularly women. Building on theories of invisible labor, care ethics, and adult learning, this article argues that unpaid, informal knowledge work (e.g., caregiving, mentoring, volunteering, community education) constitutes a form of cognitive labor that is persistently under-acknowledged in aging and education discourse. The analysis highlights the gendered dimensions of later-life learning, contending that older women act as vital yet unrecognized intellectual actors in family and community life. Through a critical synthesis of literature across gerontology, feminist theory, and adult education, this article proposes a new framework for recognizing and valuing intellectual contributions of older learners beyond formal institutions. By documenting this perspective, this article challenges deficit narratives of aging, stimulates dialog about the ethical and political stakes of recognizing cognitive labor, and identifies directions for future research and policy to advance gerontological scholarship.