World Elder Abuse Awareness Day - 15 June
KENYA - LAUNCH OF UNIVERSAL SOCIAL PENSIONS
Helping Older Women Access Pensions & Income
Due to gender discrimination, older women generally have a harder time finding paid jobs or accessing their rightful pensions.
Employment and earning an income
According to the United Nations, the less developed the country, the more older women are forced to remain working in order to survive. These jobs are often in low paid and demeaning with little rights.
Employers often regard older women as a non-profitable investment for education and vocational training. Many poor older women, especially older women with disabilities and those living in rural areas, have been denied the right to education and have received little or no formal or informal education. Illiteracy and innumeracy can severely restrict older women's full participation in public and political life, the economy and access to a whole range of services, entitlements and recreational activities. If a women finds a paid job, she tends to be paid less than men for the same work or work of equal value.
Gender-based discrimination in employment throughout their life has a cumulative impact in old age, compelling older women to face disproportionately lower income.
Older women's right to a pension
Due to lower wages or no job in the formal sector, many older women are disqualified for state contributory pensions. If they do qualify for a pension, the amount is usually linked to salaries they earned resulting in smaller pensions than men who had better paying jobs. Older women are also discriminated due to different mandatory retirement ages based on age and sex.
In Latin America, only half as many women receive a pension compared to men.
A non-contributory pension is the best strategy of social protection for older women because it does not perpetuate the gender-discrimination in the workplace.
Many older women also care for vulnerable young children and other family members. Many times, older women serve as the sole care giver for their large families. The financial and emotional cost of this unpaid full-time work goes unrecognized.
How we are making a difference
HelpAge and our affiliates are working to help older women access their rightful entitlements. So far, we have:
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Supported nearly 14,000 women access a loan or financial service in 22 different countries.
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Mobilized 30,000 women to take local action against discrimination
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Provided technical support to government ministries responsible for social protection in 25 countries
http://www.un.org/en/events/elderabuse/
Извор: WUNRN – 15.06.2018
