WUNRN
Via European Women's Lobby - EWL
European Advisory Committee on Equal Opportunities between Women and Men:
OPINION ON THE GENDER DIMENSION OF ACTIVE AGEING & SOLIDARITY BETWEEN GENERATIONS (Adopted November 2011)
Direct Link to Full 14-Page
Document:
Within the European Union the ageing population is
increasing due to a combination of low birth rates and rising life
expectancy......Planning will need to consider the specific issues for women
and men across a range of age cohorts from 50 plus to 90 plus to ensure that
the gender dimension of active ageing is taken into account and the goal of
equality between women and men promoted.
The at-risk-of-poverty rate
is significantly higher for women over the age 65 than for men of the same age
(21 % vs. 16% in 2008).9
Poverty includes a lack
of income and sufficient material resources to live in dignity, inadequate
access to basic services such as healthcare, housing and education and labour
market exclusion and poor quality work.10 Gender differences and inequalities
are both features of social exclusion and poverty, especially in old age. There
are gender differences in how women and men experience stress and social
isolation that old age can bring which have implications for their health and
life expectancy.
Although the life expectancy of women is longer than men, the number of quality-of-life-years for women compared to men is lower.11, highlighting the need for health services to respond to the differing needs of women and men and to the challenge that more women than men will experience extended periods of ill health in old age.
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