Hon. Susan Ryan AO

Age Discrimination Commissioner2012

Rights Roadblocks Resilience

Older Women’s Network NSW

RIGHTS

Our rights to work, to security in old age, and to an income when we stop working, are essential to avoid poverty and insecurity.

Ageing – the big picture

Worldwide

• 400 million people aged 60 years and over. This is expected to double in 15 years and to reach 1.2 billion by 2050.

Asia-Pacific

• 60% of the world’s older population lives in the Asia-Pacific region, and by 2050, one in 4 people will be over the age of 60 years.

Inequalities in ageing

Women are more likely than men to experience:

Lower retirement savings

Lower wages

Lower levels of financial literacy

Lower levels of superannuation

Poorer access to health resources

Lower economic security

Poorer access to adequate housing

Discrimination faced by older Australians

Areas of age discrimination

69% of all age discrimination complaints received by the Australian Human Rights Commission relate to employment.

Over the last year, the Commission has had a 44% increase in age-related complaints.

ROADBLOCKS

Policies

Laws

Discriminatory attitudes

LABOUR FORCE STATUS, BY AGE AND SEX – 2010

Source: ABS, Labour Force Survey (2010)

“Too old” to work

• 1 in 5 older Australians aged 55 years and older, who were actively looking for more hours, claimed that they were considered “too old” by employers.

• For unemployed people aged 45 years and over, the main difficulty finding work (accounting for 18% of cases) was reported as being “considered too old by employers”.

Financial disparityIn 2010, the mean weekly income for employed men was $1218, compared to $805 for employed women.

At ages 65 and older, the mean income for men in full and part time work was $1024, compared to $669 for women.

Superannuation

Source: FAHCSIA, Women in Australia (2009).

In 2007, 7% of women compared with 15% of men reported that their main source of retirement income was superannuation.

In 2011, 60% of women aged 65–69 years old had no superannuation.

The average superannuation payout is $112,600 for women vs. $198,000 for men.

RESILIENCE

Longevity is positive and it offers opportunity.

We are living a whole other lifetime than our great grandparents.

Source: ABS, Measures of Australia’s Progress (2009)

Worldwide trends towards ageing

A child born in 1955 had an average life expectancy at birth of only 48 years. By 2000, the average life expectancy at birth had increased to 66 years. By 2025, it is projected to rise to 73 years.

In Australia, life expectancy is 79 years for men and 84 years for women.