Abstract

Research on the civic engagement of older women has increased, but specificapproaches to political participation and life trajectories from a life course per-spective remain scarce. This study explores how life transitions influence andrelate to the political participation of older women throughout their lives. Weconducted individual interviews with 18 women over the age of 60 who aremembers of social organisations in Chile. Through thematic analysis, we iden-tified four types of life transitions: those related to family, work, illness, andthe socio-political context. These transitions impact participation trajectories,facilitating or hindering participation or permeating the content of civic activi-ties. We discuss the importance of broadening the notion of political participa-tion, highlighting forms of involvement that emerge from everyday experienceslinked to caregiving and traditional gender roles, which are often invisible.