The aim of this project is to establish an international network of researchers to conceptualise and eventually conduct a gendered analysis of the employment, retirement and pension prospects of older workers in Europe. Currently, as a response to demographic ageing in the context of economic crisis, there are policy changes (such as the increase in pension age and anti-age discrimination legislation) being introduced across Europe which encourage the extension of working life. There is also a policy thrust towards individualised responsibility and away from state and employer responsibility. It has become increasingly recognised that due to the different work-life trajectories of men and women, there is a need for a gendered analysis of the potential impact of this extended working life and individualisation agenda in order to appropriately inform policy (lvosevic, 2009). While there has been some relevant research conducted in individual European countries and some inter-country comparison, there is a need for a systematic cross-country analysis (Duvvury et al, 2012, Vickerstaff et al, 2008, Dewilde, 2011). These concerns were highlighted at a recent conference
at NUl, Galway entitled “Gender and Employment across the lifecourse” where leading scholars explored a range of issues such as the impact of unpaid care on work trajectories, childcare and elder care policy. The keynote address by Professor Nicky Lefeuvre advocated a lifecourse approach to analysis to enable understanding of differentiated gender outcomes in terms of employment patterns and career and income and pension outcomes for older workers.
Funded by
New Foundations Scheme 2012