This document presents witness testimony and prepared statements from the Congressional hearing called to examine the role of older women in the work force. The opening statement from Representative Olympia J. Stowe stresses the need for Congress to recognize the social realities facing older women when it considers changes in education, job training, dependent care, and retirement income legislation. Witnesses include Jean Netherton, a commissioner of the National Commission on Working Women; Elizabeth W. Markson, the director of social research at the Gerontology Center of Boston University; Shirley Sandage, the executive director of the Older Women's League; Eileen M. Lonsdale, the director of advocacy and support services for Western Older Citizens Council Incorporated; Anne Moss, the director of the Women's Pension Project at the Pension Rights Center; and Nancy R. King, the deputy director of the Center for Women Policy Studies. Testimonies focus on what can be and is being done for women whose family responsibilites, personal choices, or changes in family circumstances have limited their entry into the work force and their opportunities once they begin working. Employment problems, health, and caretaking responsibilities faced by middle-aged and older women are also considered. (KGB)