Broughan, Christine

I discovered the mouse problem while preparing Christmas dinner. ‘You’ll have to deal with them,’ my dad said, handing me two traditional mousetraps. I set the traps carefully in the kitchen cupboard and went to bed

Coventry University Pure Portal

http://curve.coventry.ac.uk/open     A tale of mice and (wo)men: will current policies on extending working lives improve quality of life for all.  Broughan, C.  Published PDF deposited in Curve April 2016  Original citation:  Broughan, C. (2013) 'A tale of mice and (wo)men: will current policies on extending working lives improve quality of life for all.' in Sally-Marie Bamford and Jessica Watson (Eds). Has the Sisterhood forgotten older women? (pp: 41-43). London: International Longevity Centre – UK  URL: http://www.ilcuk.org.uk/index.php/publications/publication_details/has_the_sisterhood_forgotten_older_women  Publisher: International Longevity Centre  Under a Creative Commons License  Copyright © and Moral Rights are retained by the author(s) and/ or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This item cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder(s). The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.  CURVE is the Institutional Repository for Coventry University  41 A Compendium of Essays: Has the Sisterhood forgotten older women?I discovered the mouse problem while preparing Christmas dinner. ‘You’ll have to deal with them,’ my dad said, handing me two traditional mousetraps. I set the traps carefully in the kitchen cupboard and went to bed.The next morning I couldn’t face the carnage that was certain to lie within. I had to remind myself  of  the mantra ‘I am a strident feminist’ that Caitlin Moran proposes in her book How to be a woman. Whilst repeating her mantra like some Hindu yogi monk, I headed to the cupboard and opened it. My eyes were met by those of  a small brown mouse looking back at me, caught in the trap, but very much alive. Momentarily forgetting my female warrior status, I shrieked, closed the door and phoned my dad.  I’m 46.Just more proof  that men and women are sometimes like chalk and cheese: driven by different things, often taking on different roles and responsibilities. But the kind of  traditional partnership between the hunter-gatherer husband and nurturing wife may have worked in the past, but how future-proof  is our reliance on partners to ensure financial security in older age? Divorce rates would suggest this is becoming a risky strategy. Among people aged 65 or older, 46 percent of  women and 26 percent of  men now live alone1; coupled with the fact that pensioners are also likely to be affected by poverty2, single older women are at greatest risk of  poverty and isolation3. Increased longevity is a 21st century phenomenon to be celebrated, but there is a risk that women, who often live longer than men, do so at the risk of  being caught in the metaphorical mouse trap: alive but with little quality of  life.The bottom line is that women need to be more engaged in work during the lifecourse. However, certain demographic groups such as women and individuals from low socio-economic backgrounds A tale of mice and (wo)men: will current policies on extending working lives improve quality of life for all? Dr Christine BroughanDr Christine Broughan is Director of the Age Research Centre at Coventry University. She is actively involved in promoting multidisciplinary, collaborative and cross-boundary working. Christine’s research addresses social inclusion in relation to ageing, diversity, and wellbeing. 42A Compendium of Essays: Has the Sisterhood forgotten older women?are, in fact, over-represented in the category of  ‘older inactive persons’. A key target of  the Lisbon Strategy4 was to increase labour market participation of  workers aged 55-64 to 50% by 2010 but figures in 2011 reveal that this target has only been partially met - with 41% of  men and 59% of  women in this age group inactive. So what can, and is, being done to tackle this? Two major strategic interventions will ostensibly shape the future behaviour of  all older workers: changes in statutory retirement age and pension provision. But these policies might only serve to bifurcate the lived experience of  already advantaged and disadvantaged groups. We already know about the situation with pensions (8% of  the poorest have financial protection via pensions; compared with 70% coverage among top earners). Being older, female and from lower socio-economic backgrounds therefore poses a triple jeopardy. And where is their voice in a country where the dominant discourse comes from leaders who are 80% male and went to fee paying schools5?The solution towards engaging more older women in the workforce, is of  course, complicated. It is not enough to suggest we simply encourage more women to stay in the workforce longer, as women are reported to experience ageism at a younger age than men6. So why is this? An evolutionary explanation would suggest ageism begins once a person passes the time when they can contribute to the reproduction of  the species. An alternative psychobiological explanation would say it’s due to our own internalised fears of  decrepitude and death. Either way, the idea that women hang around beyond their productive years and somehow demand more than their fair share of  support could be considered by some as ‘bad form’. But how could the sisterhood forget older women? One possible explanation is that we are fearful of  the trappings of  inequality that come with old age. Caitlin Moran compares media visions of  the successful male in his business suit with its female counterpart, the young model; looking sexy, a bit annoyed and a bit dissatisfied. It’s a tricky stance to maintain for anyone who takes on more responsibility in life than making their hair and makeup look nice. With earlier onset of  ageism, increased risk of  poverty, gender inequality of  pay, greater longevity and poorer pension contributions (...hold on, we’re up to a quintuple-jeopardy and I’m not even sure that’s a word!) older women from lower socio-economic groups have 43 A Compendium of Essays: Has the Sisterhood forgotten older women?the potential to become one of  the fastest growing disadvantaged groups in society. Without significant intervention to realise the asset value of  all older people, current trends suggest we will potentially create a much greater social divide as people enter the third phase of  their lives. Those with better jobs will retrain, have flexible working arrangements, good private pensions, spending power. Those that don’t will follow a very different trajectory. The World Health Organisation advocate that where years have been added to life we must now add life to years; a pertinent point for women who are more likely to outlive their male counterparts but at the same time more likely to live in poverty.The bizarre notion of  measuring a woman’s workability based on the amount of  times the earth has orbited the sun in her lifetime, her investment in products inclusive of  the term ‘serum/firming/anti-wrinkle’, and the ability to wear six inch heels is tantamount to 21st Century witchcraft. But what should our version of  utopia look like? I’m not advocating that we don our cardies and sensible shoes but what we do need to do is take more control of  our lives. Moran rebukes the notion of  becoming invisible in her older age, in fact she finds the idea of  getting old totally thrilling: time to hag up, wear an inappropriately short frock and have the occasional sneaky fag. Let’s just hope she (and the rest of  us) will be able to avoid the metaphorical mousetrap and be able to afford them! 1 Office for National Statistics, Subnational Population Projections, 2010-based projects, <http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-246448> and Office for National Statistics, Families and Households, 2012,<http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-2789232 C Attias-Donfut, J Ogg, FC Wolff, European patterns of intergenerational financial and time transfers, European Journal of  Ageing, vol. 2, issue 2, 2005, pp. 161-173 <http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10433-005-0008-7?LI=true>3 Townsend Centre for International Poverty Research, Studies in Poverty, Inequality and Social Exclusion: A Series by The Policy Press, <http://www.bris.ac.uk/poverty/povertyinequalityandsocialexclusion.html>4 European Trade Union,The European Union’s Lisbon Strategy <http://www.etuc.org/a/652>5 Sutton Trust 2012 6 P Taylor, Reviews: Catherine Itzin and Chris Phillipson, Age Barriers at Work: Maximising the Potential of Mature and Older People, Ageing and Society, vol. 13, issue 4, 1993, pp. 692-693 <http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=2018824>44A Compendium of Essays: Has the Sisterhood forgotten older women?In 2009, Miriam O’Reilly claimed that she had been dropped as presenter of  BBC’s Countryfile because she was an older woman. Although her tribunal case and circumstances attracted widespread media attention, gendered ageism - the combined forces of  age and sex discrimination - tends to be one of  the ‘less visible gendered mechanisms’ 1 affecting women’s experiences of  work. This essay considers why older women are often overlooked in the workplace and offers some suggestions for challenging this invisibility.In many ways older women workers could be considered highly visible. More are staying in employment until later ages, and against a backdrop of  recession and youth unemployment, increased employment of  older women (and men) may be considered a success.  Despite this, the patterns of  employment amongst older women show evidence of  segregation: women over 50 are concentrated into a smaller range of  jobs in lower grades than their male counterparts or compared to younger women. A recent TUC survey also highlighted pay discrimination: women over 50 earn less than men of  the same age and less than women in their 30s. It is tempting (and more optimistic) to dismiss such differences as cohort effects, i.e. it is unfortunate for the current generation of  over-50s women, but younger generations will not face the same disadvantage when they enter their older life-stages.  However, a more detailed consideration of  the reasons why older women are in the position they are reveals some systemic and deep-rooted issues that may well extend across successive generations. While older men are more likely than younger men to suffer from age discrimination or ageism, and women are more likely than Not seen or heard? Older women  in the workplaceWendy LorettoWendy Loretto is Professor of Organizational Behaviour at the University of Edinburgh Business School. Her main research field is age and employment, with a particular focus on changes in employees’ and employers’ attitudes and practices in extending working lives. She is especially interested in the ways in which gender and age interact to affect work and retirement experiences amongst older men and women.45 A Compendium of Essays: Has the Sisterhood forgotten older women?men to be subject to sex discrimination, there are strong grounds to assert that that gender and age discrimination are mutually reinforcing and that this mutual reinforcement puts older women in a particularly disadvantaged position2. This perspective draws upon the notion of  sexualising women’s value to work (and to society in general) in youth, in a way that is simply not the case for men3.  As such, the limited research in this area has focused mainly on appearance as an explanatory factor, where only ‘attractive’, i.e. youthful-looking, older women can succeed in the workplace. The recent rancour over the appearance of  esteemed academic Mary Beard provides a clear illustration of  this principle.Several ironies arise from this perspective on gendered ageism: first, as research into women aged 50-70 in Canada has shown, older women’s invisibility in the workplace is ‘grounded in their acute visibility as old women’4. Many of  the women in this study addressed the problem of  invisibility by minimising the visible effects of  ageing through beauty work – ranging from hair dye and make up to non-invasive and invasive cosmetic techniques. Some felt that youthful appearances were required in order to work with the public, especially in health-oriented jobs, the implication being that looking younger is not just associated with being more attractive but also being healthier. Respondents also expressed the tension caused by being aware of  ageism but at the same time submitting to it by accepting the importance of  physical appearance and engaging in beauty work. Some spoke of  how retirement had offered them the ‘luxury’ of  having these appearance pressures lifted.A second irony is that concern over appearance and being perceived as less attractive is higher among older women in professional, male managed and hierarchical organisations5. Paradoxically, these are the very areas where women are often only seen as successful if  they can suppress the feminine side of  their characters 6. Walker et al.7  highlight how these processes of  ‘self-denial’ and self-separation’ differentiate (gendered) ageism from the other ‘isms’.A third irony arises from patriarchal assumptions of  the role of  women’s paid work in society in general. Ainsworth and Hardy’s8 analysis of  a public enquiry into problems faced by older unemployed workers in Australia demonstrated how older female job seekers were rendered invisible, because they were 46A Compendium of Essays: Has the Sisterhood forgotten older women?constructed as privileged, and consequently less in need of  government assistance. This ‘privilege’ arose because of  their experience of  and greater propensity towards flexible working, which would make it easier for them to take lower-paid jobs. It was also felt that gaps in women’s employment history could be accounted for more easily than could gaps in men’s careers. There was also greater public sympathy for older male workers because of  perceived greater impact on men of  loss of  self-esteem. The gendered nature of  the labour market has been well researched and understood for some time in the academic literature, but as Krekula9 comments, little attention has been paid to age in the construction of  women in gender theory. For example, debates over the impact of  domestic roles - in particular caring - in constraining employment have focused more on women as mothers of  small children. However, the impact of  caring on labour market activity for many women threads through the lifecourse, including not only looking after children well into their teenage years and beyond, but also caring for elderly relatives, ailing spouses and grandchildren.This brief  discussion of  gendered ageism has provided some insight into the ways in which older women are marginalised, often by being rendered invisible – to employers and to society as a whole. However, the reality is that employers face an ageing workforce, especially in those very areas (e.g. local government health, education) in which a larger proportion of  older women are already working.  Increasing visibility of  this ‘untapped potential’ is crucial and requires recognising the contributions older women make through paid and unpaid work, the latter often in their capacity as carers. We also need equalities legislation to recognise the existence of  multiple/intersectional discrimination, and for employers to question the effects of  apparently age and gender-neutral policies and practices. 47 A Compendium of Essays: Has the Sisterhood forgotten older women?1   E. H. Gorman and J. A. Kmec, ‘We (Have to) Try Harder: Gender and Required Work Effort in   Britain and the United States’, Gender & Society, 21, 6, 2007. 2   W. Loretto and S. Vickerstaff, ‘The Relationship Between Gender and Age’, in E. Parry and S. Tyson (eds) Managing an Age-Diverse Workforce, Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2010. 3   C. Duncan and W. Loretto, ‘Never the right age? Gender and age-based discrimination in employment, Gender, Work and Organisation, 11, 1, 2004.4  L. Hurd Clarke and M. Griffin, ‘Visible and invisible ageing: beauty work as a response to ageism’, Ageing & Society, 28, 5, 2008, p669.5  H. Walker, D. Grant , M. Meadows and I. Cook, ‘Women’s Experiences and Perceptions of Age Discrimination in Employment: Implications for Research and Policy’, Published Online January 4 2007, p43.6  F. Wilson, Organizational Behaviour and Work, A Critical Introduction, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2004, p92. 7  H. Walker, D. Grant , M. Meadows and I. Cook, ‘Women’s Experiences and Perceptions of Age Discrimination in Employment: Implications for Research and Policy’, Published Online January 4 2007, p44.8 S. Ainsworth and C. Hardy, ‘The construction of the older worker: privilege, paradox and policy’, Discourse & Communication, 1, 3, 2007.9  C. Krekula, ‘The Intersection of Age and Gender: Reworking Gender Theory and Social Gerontology’, Current Sociology, 55, 2, 2007, p157.

A tale of mice and (wo)men: will current policies on extending working lives improve quality of life for all.

https://pure.coventry.ac.uk/ws/files/4001629/Pages%20from%20Has%20the%20Sisterhood%20forgotten%20older%20women.pdf

A tale of mice and (wo)men: will current policies on extending working lives improve quality of life for all.

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Coventry University Pure Portal