The fact that just 18% of TV presenters are female has this week drawn the attention of Harriet Harman MP, the Shadow Culture Secretary and Chair of Labour's Older Women's Commission. [1] On Thursday, senior executives in the TV industry will be asked to explain to the Commission why there are so few female television presenters.
But the invisibility of older women in the workplace is not limited to television. Yesterday's news [2] that there were now almost one million economically active people aged over 65 was positive. But hidden in the figures was the fact that most of these were men.
The unreported news for older women yesterday was very worrying. The increase in employment amongst those aged over 65 was only amongst men. Whilst there were 12,000 more men of this age in work than previous quarter there were 5,000 fewer women. The statistics showed a significant increase in unemployment amongst 50-64 year old women, with 24,000 more unemployed than in the previous quarter.
Alongside unemployment, there are many reasons why women come out of the workforce earlier than men. At the moment their State Pension Age is lower and as they are more likely than men to have worked in the public sector. Some will therefore have benefitted from relatively generous public sector pensions as well having been offered "early retirement" when the sector was trying to cut jobs. Women tend to take on most of the familial caring responsibilities. And some will have not returned to work after having children.
Retirement might actually better suit many women than men, so some women may be more inclined to make the choice to stop work earlier. Most of men's social relationships are in found in the workplace which tends to be further from their home community. I chair Open Age, a London based health and wellbeing charity for older people, where 80% of the users are women.
Contributing to a BBC Radio Wales call-in yesterday, I was struck by the number of women who were happily retired, doing things they wanted to do. The male contributors were more likely to feel the need to have "meaningful occupation" and expressed more worries about money.
Yesterday we published a Provocation [3] which explored the role of innovation in supporting older workers. But we failed to find a single decent example of a company (globally) exploring what they might need to do to work and the workplace to encourage and support the needs of older women.
The challenge for older women is much bigger than how many of them are on TV, although the visibility of older women presenters may help set a social norm, as recent ILC-UK work on older women has demonstrated [4]. It's about ensuring that the specific needs of older women and men in the workplace are met.
But whilst income is a big factor in determining whether or not people work later in life, it is not the sole reason. Having a role which gives you fulfilment and enjoyment is vital. Perhaps employers should focus a bit more on creating jobs older women (and men, for that matter) want to do, whilst also doing more than playing lip service to flexible working conditions, gradual retirement and workplace adaptation.
David Sinclair
First published at www.ilcuk.org.uk
This blog is one in a series on gender and ageing, part of a wider stream of work including a Compendium of Essays on the theme ‘Has the Sisterhood forgotten older women?’, launched on International Women’s Day. ILC-UK is establishing an Older Women’s Policy and Research Action Alliance with the aim of creating a roadmap for future research and policy priorities. If you would be interested in being involved, please email info@ilcuk.org.uk
[1] TV presenters after 50: which channels hire older women? http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2013/may/16/broadcasters-over-age-50-women
[2] ONS Labour Market Statistics, May 2013 (see Table A05) http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-263579v
[3] Extending working lives: a provocation http://www.ilcuk.org.uk/index.php/publications/publication_details/extending_working_lives_a_provocation
[4] Has the Sisterhood forgotten older women? http://www.ilcuk.org.uk/index.php/publications/publication_details/has_the_sisterhood_forgotten_older_women
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