Challenges faced by women 50+ in the labour market

Halina Potocka, AGE Vice-PresidentWomen's careers after 40 and 50

Budapest20 November 2010

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What is AGE?

AGE Platform Europe

• a network bringing together European, national and regional non-profit senior organisations

• set up in 2001 following a process of discussion on how to improve co-operation between older people's organisations in the EU + to improve older people’s representativity at EU level.

• a non-profit making international association, financed by membership fees and an annual subsidy from the European Commission (PROGRESS programme).

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AGE network

• Gathers 156 associations of older people, or working with and for older people, from 27 EU States

• Represents 28 million older people across the EU, but promotes the interests of the 150 million older people in the EU

• A network that does not stop growing!

AGE objectives

• To voice and represent the interests of older and retired people in the European Union

• To improve the dialogue and cooperation between its members and the European Institutions.

• To support networking - and best practice exchange-between older people’s groups in Europe (EU platform)

• To disseminate information towards its members and influence decision makers at EU level (+ national level through AGE national member organisations)

AGE structure

• General Assembly (once a year): adoption of work programme, budget and applications for membership

• Administrative Council (twice a year): implementation of work programme + policy decisions

• Executive Committee: policy guidance + adherence to statutes and internal rules

• Expert Groups: on age discrimination, employment, pension, social inclusion, health, new technologies and accessibility

• Secretariat in Brussels: day-to-day management of the association + liaising with the EU institutions

AGE policy areas

Policy influencing and development on 6 areas:

• non discrimination• employment of workers > 50, active ageing• social inclusion, the fight against poverty• social protection (pension reform, minimum income)

• health care and long term care of the elderly • accessibility to new technologies, transport (mobility)

AGE lobbying activities

• Participation in consultative committees set up by the Commission

• The European Parliament Intergroup on Ageing

• The Social Protection Committee. • Participation in key events organised by EU

Presidencies or other EU key stakeholders • Regular press releases + opinion paper to

deliver AGE key messages• Networking: direct contact with EU Officials• Joint campaigns on key issues: Elder Abuse

Specific challenges that women 50+ face in the labour

market

1. Age discrimination

2. The gender employment gap

3. The gender pay gap

3. The gender pension gap

4. AGE recommendations

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Age discrimination

46% of Europeans think that discrimination on the basis of age is widespread. At the country level, this view is most widely held in Hungary (79%) and the Czech Republic (74%).

An examination of the development over the past five years shows that the feeling that age discrimination has increased is most widely held in Hungary (63%) and the Czech Republic (53%).

The analyses reveal that citizens aged 40 or over are more likely to say that discrimination on ground of age is widespread.

Fundamental right

Employment is a fundamental right, represented by Article 15 of the Charter for Fundamental Rights, which adds to the responsibility of policy-makers to find the most effective solutions for the reduction of unemployment. It is clear that inequalities in our societies have increased, since there is evidence that some groups are particularly affected: older and younger employees.

This week Equality Summit focused on the fight against discrimination and on the promotion of equality in the workplace. Crisis => sometime convenient excuse for reducing support for effective mechanisms and measures.

Gender employment gap11

The gender pay gap

Across Europe women earn on average 17.8% less than men (17.5%-Hungary) and in some countries the gender pay gap is widening (Estonia 30.3%)

Gap is even wider for older women

Will increase due to cuts in social services such as subsidised long-term care and childcare

Institutional mechanisms and systems on wage setting can influence the pay gap.

The gender pension gap

Poverty risk for older women is higher in EU15 (21%) than in the ten new Member States (10%)

Gender differentials are notably higher in Sweden, Austria, Germany, Finland and Ireland; also in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Slovenia and Cyprus

Gender pension gap is even higher than gender pay gap (in BU: 34%, 2005)

The average EU at-risk-of-poverty rate for older women is of 22 percent against 16 percent for older men

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AGE Recommendations

Adopt an EU « carer’s leave directive (EC has included this in its work programme 2011)

Adopt more flexible working conditions to enable informal carers to reconcile work and family life

Forbid pro-actively all gender/age discrimination in the workplace

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AGE Recommendations

Address gender inequalities in pension systems => fair compensation for carer’s breaks, labour market segregation, minimum pensions

Promote use of unisex mortality tables for calculation of annuities in funded schemes

European social systems must move to a better adjustment and recognition of societal role which falls on mature workers.

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Equality Summit 15-16 Nov 2010 Brussels

„We'll face the real impact of an ageing population and a shrinking work-force from 2012 onwards. […] We are losing an important source of labour, skills and knowledge. […] When we speak about promoting equality, non-discrimination, we should not forget the need to reduce inequality. Not only are people at risk of discrimination affected by higher unemployment rates, they also face a higher risk of poverty than the rest of population. Today, 84 million Europeans still live at risk of poverty. This is simply not acceptable. An important step to fight against poverty will be through the Europe 2020 flagship initiative, the Platform against poverty, which I intend to launch early December.

Equality Summit 15-16 Nov 2010, Brussels

This Platform will serve as a visible expression of solidarity towards the most vulnerable members of our societies. Its design owes much to the input from civil society stakeholders. […] The objective of the Platform is to tackle poverty in a wider context, because individuals experiencing poverty are often affected by multiple interrelated problems that often trap them in a vicious cycle of disadvantage and inequality.

László Andor EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Closing remarks at the Fourth Equality Summit Fourth Equality Summit Brussel

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

AGE Platform Europe

Rue Froissart 1111040 Bruxelles – Belgique

Contact person: Rachel BuchananE-mail: rachel.buchanan@age-platform.eu

tel. : +32.2.280.14.70fax : +32.2.280.15.22www.age-platform.eu