WUNRN
EWL - European Women's Lobby
PROMOTION OF GENDER EQUALITY KEY TO
STRATEGY ON ACTIVE AGEING, SAYS EWL ON EUROPEAN DAY OF SOLIDARITY BETWEEN
GENERATIONS
28 April 2011
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Concerns regarding demographic
changes and the pressures these are putting upon European social systems in a
context of economic slowdown have prompted the European Union (EU) to dedicate
2012 to the promotion of ‘Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations’.
The European Women’s Lobby, as an active member of the NGO Coalition for the
European Year 2012, welcomes the increased attention to the rights and needs of
older persons and to the importance of strong social solidarity to protect the
most vulnerable.
Research highlights how in many
cases inequalities between women and men are accentuated with age. At present,
women’s employment rates decrease rapidly as they age, with only 45% of women
between 55 and 64 in employment, as compared to 63% of men in this age
category. In addition, a gender pay gap at 18% on average in the EU and long
periods spent outside the labour market for caring responsibilities (including
for elderly dependents) contribute to women have substantially lower pensions
and savings than their male counterparts; 22% of women over 65 live in poverty.
Certain groups of women are particularly vulnerable such as those belonging to
ethnic minorities or women with disabilities. For example, EUROSTAT figures
show that only 25% of women with disabilities are employed as compared to 44%
of disabled men.
Implementing comprehensive
strategies to combat inequalities between women and men is thus key if the
European Union is to reach its goals of increasing employment levels and
independence in older age, and the gender dimension is therefore central to the
joint leaflet the NGO Coalition for the European Year 2012 will launch on 29
April, and to its recommendations to European policy-makers. ‘Promoting active
ageing and solidarity between generations is a worthy and necessary enterprise
for the EU’, commented Brigitte Triems, EWL President. ‘We look forward to
seeing the development of a fair and sustainable social model which takes into
account the rights and needs of all generations and, crucially, of women and
men alike, in order to make this vision a reality.’