Covert Participant Observation – Moore
Dressed up as an old person over a period of 3 years to find out what it would be like to be perceived as old
She used latex wrinkles, makeup, a wig and clothing
Her findings were that assumptions were made about her perceived age such as she was deaf and would easily be confused
Her conclusion was that the worst thing about aging was that overwhelming sense that everything around you is letting you know you are not terribly important anymore
Johnson and Bytheway (1999) defined ageism as the offensive exercise of power through reference to age
This can be institutionalised through organisational and legal practices or based on stereotype prejudice
Age inequalities in Work and Employment
Youth
Socially constructed in UK
Have restrictions on when and where you may work
Restrictions on minimum you can be paid
restrictions on chances of an employer choosing to employ you
If aged 14-15 in UK, you cannot work more than 12 hours during a school week and if under 13 you are not allowed paid work
A 16-year-old has a minimum wage of just under £4 as an adult over 21 is just over £6.50 per hour
While it feels that employers are always going to pick someone older for the job as they are likely to have more experience where young people are cheap labour and being young may have some advantages
At 16% the unemployment rate of 16 to 24 has been largest rising since 2004 but recent reports show a changing picture
The Elderly
Social construction which can be illustrated by the fact that the state legally defines when people can retire and when they are entitled to state pensions
- UK experiencing an aging population has been described as a demographic time bomb as they are serious worries about the costs of future pensions
- Scase and scales argue that the elderly are likely to be split between affluent early retirees and those who are on or close to the breadline – latter group may have to continue working beyond retirement age in order to avoid poverty
- Ray et al notes that the retirement age often differs according to social class and status
- In 2017, Lord Alan sugar (69), Rupert Murdoch (85), Ricard Branson (66) all retired after the age
Milne found evidence of two worlds existing among the retired in UK:
- Large section of retired population is made up of affluent older people who are comfortably well-off because their state pensions are supplemented by occupational pensions and savings so they grey pound
- Other group of retired population is made up of those who have little or no savings as they are occupied low-paid jobs when they worked which did not offer occupational pensions
Become difficult once someone leaves work and leads to age discrimination and subsequent financial issues
Media articles discuss people becoming too old to employ
A survey by MORI found that 38% of discrimination cases filed after 2006 cited age as the reason
There have been many high-profile cases in the media such as Arlene Phillips on strictly come dancing where the public have been led to believe that age is the only reason for someone being made unemployed
Legislation surrounding retirement age is felt by some to be a possible area of prejudice and discrimination
When retiring in UK you receive state pension subject to having been a working citizen in UK paying national insurance for 30 years
State pension age is currently 64 for men and younger for the woman
Female state pension age will keep steadily rising every few months and equalise at 65 for both men and woman in 2018
Increase every few months reaching 66 by 2020 and then 67 in 2026 and conclude in 2028
In 2011 the idea of compulsory retirement age was phased out in UK, but an employer can still set a compulsory retirement age if they can justify it
Structuralists argue that society determines the age when they can retire rather than individual’s choice
This view of retirement seems to set rules for all and thus should not aid inequality, retirement age if far from being the same for everyone in reality
Some have the option of early retirement
State pensions can only be taken at certain times, those who wish to stop working earlier of course may though for a lot of people this is not financially possible
Research shows that this is an area where there is a great disparity of experience of old age
Those who have financial security will not grow old in the same way as those who have work until they drop
Debates about retirement age and changes are important than ever in UK with its aging population = Demographic time bomb
If there are more people over 65 than under 16 this has repercussions for the UK as a whole
Issues such as dependency and having people possibly needing health care, social services and housing mean that there is a potential crisis
Ricks assume all elderly will be poor and require a lot of care but improvements in health care and financial wealth meaning the picture is not that simple and that impact of aging population is not easy to predict
Evidence suggests many older people are working post-retirement whether it be in voluntary positions or in paid as they cannot afford retirement so making it a far less homogenous picture
Sociologists been interested in how old age and retirement is interpreted by those who experience it such as work is important as it confers identity, status etc…
- Retirement means social redundancy, loss of identity, status and purpose
- Mean loneliness as the retiree is cut off from their regular social contacts at work
The Experience of Retirement in Second Modernity: Generational Habitus among Retired Senior Managers – Jones et at (2010)
The idea of retirement has changed dramatically over last quarter of a century
Transformed being seen as a time of social redundancy and loneliness to being seen as a potentially positive part on the life course
This change has been driven by a movement away from fixed retirement ages to a situation where there is now a degree of flexibility about retirement age
He focused on the topic of age identity by examining ways in which retirement for some by examining the ways in which retirement is actively constructed as a lifestyle and cultural choice
This study was based on 20 in depth qualitative interviews with men and woman from the UK
Respondents have previously worked in executive and high management posts and had recently taken early retirement as a matter of choice
Researchers aims were to explore the experiences of retirement changes in lifestyle and social roles and the meanings associated with retirement
3 main themes emerged:
- Respondents saw the fact they had more choice in arranging their retirement as an indication of their higher status compared to others who did not have choice
- Respondents described early retirement very positively as a time of creative renewal and freedom with opportunity to pursue new interests and challenges
- Respondents were aware that they were fortunate in comparison to both past generations who faced more unemployment, reduced pensions and insecurity
Age Inequalities in Wealth, Income and Poverty
Childhood, youth and old age are associated with economic uncertainty and poverty
Middle age is a time associated with independence and financial security
In UK 63% of children living in poverty are in a family in which someone works
Estimated that 3.5 million children are living in poverty in the UK = 1 in 3 children
2/3 of children growing up in poverty live in a family where one person works
Child Poverty Action Group notes that child poverty ha many effects on life chances such as education, health and community they identified different consequences:
- Lower birth weight and chronic illness as a result in later life
- Lack of access to extra-curricular
- Impeded educational development such as fewer qualifications
- Poor housing or homelessness
1 in 5 children in UK growing up in poverty, campaigns such as End Child Poverty seek to target the areas with children most at risk and offer solutions
Growing up poverty means being cold, hungry, often ill and struggling with getting to school
UK child poverty is regional as different areas have different levels
According to End Child Poverty the 20 parliamentary constituencies with highest levels of child poverty in UK
Risk of poverty among older people in UK is disproportionately high: 16% of pensioners in UK according to age UK
- Age UK claims then 900’000 pensioners live in severe poverty meaning that they are unable to afford decent food heat their home or live an independent life
- Fuel poverty is a common problem for elderly as fuel bills in UK are high as it estimates 2 million elderly people are so anxious about these bills, so they turn heating down or use one room
- Fuel poverty is a concern for age UK who state that older people will have to spend more than a 10th of their money on their fuel bill
- This means that people have to choose whether to eat or heat their house as fuel is such a financial strain
| Constituency | % of children in poverty (2013) |
| Bethnal Green and Bow | 49 |
| Poplar and Limehouse | 49 |
| Birmingham, Ladywood | 47 |
| Manchester Central | 44 |
| Birmingham, Hodge Hill | 43 |
| Edmonton | 43 |
| Westminster North | 43 |
| Tottenham | 42 |
| Hackney South and Shoreditch | 42 |
| Manchester, Gorton | 42 |
| East Ham | 42 |
| Birmingham, Hall Green | 42 |
| Glasgow Central | 41 |
| Hackney North and Stoke Newington | 41 |
| West Ham | 41 |
| Blackley and Broughton | 40 |
| Bradford West | 39 |
| Brent Central | 39 |
| Leeds Central | 39 |
| Bradford East | 39 |
The Elderly
Risk of poverty among older people in UK is disproportionally high
16% of pensioners in UK live in poverty according to age UK
Poverty among elderly have been described as being akin to living in dark ages
Statistics show that while some pensioners live in low-income households as they are not actually poor in society or most likely to be in bad financial position
Those working age, single and with dependents are more likely to suffer the worst of poverty
Age Inequalities in Social Mobility
Movement of individuals within or between strata in society varies greatly on different variables
It is important to look at social mobility with regards to age in terms of disparity of experience
Young and old is not clear divider of societies it must be looked at in reference to one’s social class, wealth, gender, culture, religion and nationality
A postmodernist view of the subject is required, one that does not look for one theory to explain age inequality
Difficult to assess social mobility in terms of age
Other factors such as social class origins and destination of the individual must also looked at
Age Inequalities and Disparity of Experience
Postmodernists such as Hepworth and Featherstone (1990) would state of all of these discussions on inequality and difference need unpicking
The groups of elderly and youth are far too simplistic
Marsh and Keating (2006) noted that different cultures attach different cultural meanings and values to different age groups
All information on employment and financial situation give a negative picture of both youth and old age
However, as social action theorists remind us the statistics are too simple to take a face value
Gender, social class, nationality, ethnicity, region and actual age other factors affect one’s experience of youth and old
Age inequality is socially constructed it changes due to different factors in society
Age and Gender
Youth
Globally, young females suffer specific inequality not suffered by males
According to advocates for youth this includes harmful practices, including female genital cutting, femicide, gender-based violence etc as physical being and self-worth by reinforcing gender-based marginalisation
While there are cultural differences that preclude these practices, gender is a factor in whether youth suffers inequality
Others create inequality for female’s youth include employment and education
Governments of countries such as Pakistani state that education is the right of all, yet statistics show that there is a huge disparity in gender and schooling
Activists such as Malala Yousafzai continue to fight for females to gain equality in education
Similarly, other rights are gendered according to culture, whether it be the right of work, go out without a chaperone or even drive
Often the experience of youth is affected not by gender but by culture, religion and nationality
Elderly
Statistics show there is also disparity of experience among the elderly when looking at gender, wealth, culture, religion and nationality as there is with youth
Old age can show us patterns of inequality and difference a close investigation shows that gender is a factor that affects the experience further
As with youth, elderly females are likely to be worse off than elderly males
Age and Cultures around the World
Elderly
Globally life chances and treatment of the elderly again shows a disparity of experience
Ideas about getting older vary from culture to culture and over time
Ageing is socially constructed
Ideas about age are not based on biology alone but age is defined through a culture a person lives in
Historical and cross-cultural evidence reveals to us the richness and disparity of different peoples experience of old age
Some societies actually have a system of gerontocracy so a form of oligarchical rule in which an entity is ruled by leaders who are significantly older than most adult population
Often thought to be an ancient form of rule so parts of the world could still be said to be gerontocracy
Saudi Arabia, the Saud family have all the power, largely all being in their 80s +
The death of their king Abdullah bin Abdelaziz at age 90 saw power change hands to his 79 relatives, Salman
In Kenya, Samburu are another example where the power is with elders
So elderly males have priority in choosing wives while those under 30 have to wait, prolonging their adolescent status
Kagan – Activity and aging in Colombian peasant village (1980) observed that the old tended to remain socially and economically active as far as physically possible, throughout old age
Did not constitute a gerontocracy but were nevertheless seen as valued and respected members of their communities
Similar to the position of the least some elderly in pre-industrial Britain
Every society creates its own definitions of old people
Nomadic societies, the elderly is a burden to the rest of society when they are unable to follow the lifestyle
The old frequently neglected or even killed one they start to become a hindrance
Societies gave the elderly higher status and they have better life chances
Geronticide or femicide is not widely practised in contemporary world
Illegal in some parts of Tamil Nadu in southern India are said to still practise it
Descriptions are closer to euthanise than abandonment
Gentleman (2009) outlies a day in a care home in Ipswich
Shows even with good care and a safe environment the lack of visits from relatives and the monotony make it an unpleasant experience
Day of a resident is marked by getting up, eating and taking medicine
He states the scene of torpid, joyless inertia is very dispiriting, but it is not the fault of the bursting home managers
Youth
It is difficult to summarise global picture of youth
A comparison of a tribe where a boy of 3 is given a knife and allowed to hunt with child in UK who cannot be convicted of a crime until age of 10 show there are huge difference
Evident is that religion and culture dictate the treatment of youth
Some differences are merely differences in culture such as rites and responsibility, so while others are more about poverty, war and exploitation of the weak rather than age discrimination
Digital Generational Gap
Clear gap between elderly and young in terms of their ability to use digital technology and social media
The digital gap may reflect the cultural separation of young and old such as older people may not be able to understand young people’s obsession with social media
Considered of a growing gap between young and old must include a discussion of the digital divide
Ability to use technology
Cause problems for employment as older people may be less comfortable using technology than the young who have grown up with it
Also hinder the young and old understanding each other as youth culture is linked to technology and causes elderly to feel they are becoming strangers in their own land – Dowd (1986)
Cultural separation of young and old
Growing phenomenon of sliver surfers seems to show 2 things:
- Those post 65 accessing and using digital technology and that as new generation grow up with technological skills, the digital gap may change and the population as a whole will be technologically informed
Complex Picture
Looking at main patterns and trends in social inequality and difference in reference to age
Age inequality is clearly evidenced within employment and patterns of wealth and poverty
Closer look at the statistics show that age may be a correlation rather than a cause as other factors become increasingly important in causing a disparity of experience
Ageism
The elderly may be exposed to ageism, a process of negative stereotyping and discrimination:
Greengross argues that ageism has become institutionalised in that age barriers has been set by the state which means that the elderly is excluded from many civic duties such as jury
Similarity, NHS older people may be subject to discrimination by being denied particular treatments or operations as of their age
Media representations of the elderly are ageist
Carrigan and Szmigin argue that the mass media represent youth as beautiful and healthy while old age is frequently represented as the greatest threat to wellbeing
Both mass media and advertising industry create perceptions of old age as a time of dependency, poor health and poverty
Ray et al further and claim that the elderly is often infantilised, ignored and treated in a patronising and disrespectful fashion by the mass media