[Brussels, 18 January 2012] On the eve of the launch of the European Year on Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations, the EY2012 Coalition of which the European Women’s Lobby is an active member, presents its joint Manifesto and Road Map.
The Coalition urges all relevant actors at local, national and European level to seize the momentum of the European Year 2012 to commit to creating an age-friendly European Union that will allow everyone to live, learn, work and age with dignity.
The manifesto of the EY2012 Coalition also calls on all actors to promote gender equality in all aspects of active ageing and intergenerational solidarity and promote working conditions that take the needs of elderly women into account.
EWL calls for greater focus on equality for older women
The EWL welcomes the European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations as an opportunity to draw attention to older women and to address gender inequalities with regards to pensions.
The EWL points out that current tendencies to increase retirement ages and to move towards more private funded pension schemes are problematic from a gender equality perspective as pensions’ mirror the inequalities women accumulate throughout their lives.
Women’s working patterns – over-representation in part-time work – coupled with their over-representation in caring responsibilities discriminate against them with regards to pension rights and levels of income leaving them open to a greater risk of poverty as they age.
Pension reforms must address the needs of older women of today and propose measures to ensure that working-aged women of today and tomorrow are entitled to the same pension rights as men.
The EWL’s annual conference in May 2012 will be held on the theme of a life-cycle approach to gender equality from an intergenerational perspective.
Read the joint press release of the EY2012 coalition here.
Read the Joint Manifesto of the EY2012 coalition here.
Read the Road Map of the EY2012 coalition here.
