WUNRN
Older Women and Beijing:
20 Years On
Older women in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for
Action
20 years ago, the Beijing Declaration recognised age discrimination as one of the factors contributing to the barriers to women’s empowerment and advancement. Older women were specifically mentioned in the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA) with regard to their poverty, health, violence against them, obstacles they face in entering the labour market, discrimination at work and as a civilian group particularly affected by armed conflict. Demographic ageing in developed and developing countries and the need for age-disaggregated data were emphasised. Recommendations for government action were made in each of these areas but there were also gaps, including the complete omission of widows and widowhood.
A review of how these recommendations were being implemented by governments as part of the Beijing+15 review in 2010 across all regions revealed that older women and population ageing were a low priority for the vast majority of countries reviewed[1].
Beijing + 20 review
As part of 20 year review of implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action governments have been asked to provide information on the situation of older women wherever possible.[2] This review of 43[3] UNECE Member States’ national reports explores the extent to which they have done that.
Achievements and Challenges since 1995
Only 12 reports (28% of the 43 reviewed) specifically mentioned older women or ageing in their review of achievements and challenges. The achievements mentioned were raising of retirement ages, supporting older women’s employment, abolishing gender differences in pensions, a law addressing multiple discrimination and specific projects for older women. Two reports recognised population ageing as a challenge. The other challenges listed were older women’s poverty, lower pensions than men and multiple discrimination based on gender and older age.
Implementation of 12 areas since 2009
A. Women and Poverty
23` reports recognise the particular poverty that older women experience. Some countries identify older women, and in particular single older women who live alone, as among the most at risk of poverty. Others provide data showing that the difference in poverty rates between men and women is highest in the over 65 age group. The most common reason given is lower pensions due to gender inequalities in the work histories. Social security policies to address this gender inequality are the most common response given, in line with the recommendation (58 o) in the BPfA.
B. Education and Training of Women
Only one country described educational opportunities for older women.
C. Women and Health
The BPfA recognises older women’s distinct reproductive and sexual health issues, and that these are often inadequately addressed (95). However, none of the country reports reviewed recognised or addressed these and only one mentioned the menopause. The BPfA also states that with increased life expectancies, the health concerns of older women require particular attention (101). Two reports recognised that there are gender differences in health in older age. Only two reports mentioned any specific health concerns (disproportionate risk of fall related injuries and osteoporosis) and two commented on the fact that women’s longer life expectancies were accompanied by more years in ill-health. 11 reports mentioned breast cancer screening programme which include some older women but generally have upper age limits of 69. One country said that its upper age limit of breast cancer screening was 73 and another to 74 years. One report stated that older women could not afford the medicines they needed. There was no mention of dementia or other mental health issues older women experience.
D. Violence against women
The BPfA recognises older women are particularly vulnerable to violence (116). Only six of the reports reviewed recognise this specific vulnerability. Three reference data on violence to the age of 74 and six refer to elderly people or elder abuse without any gender analysis. Only one report refers to a specific form of violence, that of medication abuse, that disproportionately affects older women. There is no reference to violence older women may experience in the different settings where they receive care and support, to neglect or financial exploitation and abuse.
E. Women and armed conflict
One report references a study on internally displaced and conflict affected women that included a focus on older women. Another says that data on asylum seekers is available disaggregated by age and sex.
F. Women and the economy
The BPfA recommends governments implement support programmes that enhance the self-reliance of older women (175 d) and tackle discrimination in the workplace especially considering older women workers (178 c). Twelve reports specifically mentioned older women and the barriers that they face to employment, with eight countries describing reintegration into the workforce programmes that include older women. One report stated that older women often work in part time, low paid jobs. Another addressed the burden of unpaid care work on older women. One country reported that gender pay gaps increase with age, the biggest pay gap being in the age group 60 – 70, but stated that the reasons for this are not clear, especially given the fact that women in this country are more educated than men.
G. Women in power and decision-making
One country presented information on participation in decision making disaggregated by age. In this case the oldest women elected to a constitutional assembly was 66 years old. The oldest man was 80.
H. Institutional Mechanisms for the Advancement of Women
Three reports referred to older women. One referred to a new divorce law that splits pension entitlements between the man and the women. The second referred to an EU Ministerial level workshop on labour market activation of older women. The third include a government funded report on issues facing older women.
I. Human Rights of Women
Only two reports reviewed refer to older women, both in relation to laws that address multiple discrimination where both age and sex are prohibited grounds. One report describes the inclusion of older women living alone in a gender mainstreaming project.
J. Women and the media
One report discussed the negative images of older women in the media describing a project aimed to break stereotypes of beauty based in youth in order to increase women’s self-esteem, regardless of age. Another recognised that data on older women is not systematically collected, analysed or interpreted.
K. Women and the environment
None of the reports addressed older women.
L. The girl child
None of the reports mentioned older women or took the opportunity to examine intergenerational support and unpaid care.
Section 3. Statistical data
The availability of data on older women disaggregated by age varies enormously from one report to another. Overall available of age and sex disaggregated data over the age of 65 is weak although ten reports provide disaggregated data on poverty rates or risk of poverty for older women. Five reports said they had data on physical and sexual violence that had an upper age limit of 74, one to 75 years. The data on employment usually stops at age 64.
Section 4. Future priorities
Two of the reports reviewed identified population ageing as a future priority. Two
recognised the need look at older age from a gender perspective, another the need to discuss the intersection between age and gender. One prioritised older women’s employment. One recognised the important of rural transport systems for all older women.
Conclusions
Despite a growing body of evidence on discrimination affecting women in old age, the challenges older women face are almost entirely absent from the national reviews of the implementation of the BPfA.
The only areas where older women have received any significant attention in the reviews are in relation to their poverty and barriers to employment. With regard to other aspects of their lives, older women are virtually ignored in the other 10 areas. Their sexual and reproductive health has been completely ignored. There is no recognition of, or data on, the violence they face in different settings. Despite the fact that 29 UNECE Member States have reported to the CEDAW Committee since the adoption of General Recommendation No. 27 on the rights of older women in October 2010[4], only two reports reviewed refer to older women under the human rights section. Only two reports identified population ageing as a future priority.
There are occasional mentions of the intersectional discrimination that older women face: in the need to break stereotypes of beauty based on youth, of their disproportionate subjection to medication abuse. However, what these 20-year reviews indicate is that this stage in women’s lives is still considered less important, less equal, less deserving of respect, less part of mainstream society, and that gender-based discrimination in older age is less harmful or debilitating.
Looking ahead: the next 5 years
The accumulation of gender-based discrimination over a lifetime combined with the additional discrimination based on older age can have a devastating effect on women’s lives unless it is explicitly addressed. The 1995 BPfA recommendations for action on older women’s income security, health, property rights, access to non-discriminatory employment and on collecting data disaggregated by age and sex must be put into practice.
Gaps in the BPfA recommendations must also be addressed, including:
· enabling older women to live
autonomous lives of dignity and continued personal development whatever their
physical or mental condition
· eliminating gender pay gaps
· compensating unpaid care and other
work
· preventing and providing redress for
violence against older women
· changing social norms that promote
negative and degrading images of older women in the media
· tackling intersectional
discrimination, particularly on age and marital status
· addressing the impact of armed
conflict and other situations of risk
· ensuring older women’s participation
in decision-making processes
· ensuring older women’s
non-discriminatory access to services, including lifelong education and
training, transport and financial services.
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