Unequal Ageing In Europe: Women's Independence And Pensions Hardcover

India

Gianni Betti

While much is known about the situation in the labour market in the form of gender pay and earnings gaps, rather little is understood about their sequel in old age the gender pension gap. Entering the world of pensions may well signal a step backwards as far as women's independence is concerned, particularly in countries where women have earned economic independence in employment and are now being confronted by institutional frameworks presuming, encouraging or even imposing dependence. Unequal Ageing in Europe explores the gender pension gap across the member states of the European Union, plus Iceland and Norway. Employing microdata from the Survey of Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), along with data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), the authors derive key facts regarding pension inequality between women and men. An intuitive indicator for a pension gender gap is derived and contrasted with equivalent indicators for pay and earnings gaps. The authors explore European diversity in a number of dimensions and benchmark their findings against equivalent findings in the US.

1137384093

9781137384096

English

Palgrave MacMillan

08 Jan 2015

187

Author Gianni Betti: Gianni Betti is Professor of Statistics and Economics at the University of Siena, Italy. Author Francesca Bettio: Francesca Bettio is Professor of Economics at the University of Siena, Italy. Author Thomas Georgiadis: Thomas Georgiadis is Research Assistant at the Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, Greece. Author Platon Tinios: Platon Tinios is Assistant Professor at Piraeus University, Greece

Francesca Bettio

Platon Tinios

Thomas Georgiadis

Much academic research has focused on gender discrimination in European labour markets but far less on pension inequalities in old age - less still on any systematic evaluation that compares outcomes in all EU member states. The authors are to be congratulated for identifying and measuring the dimensions and principle causes of gender-derived pension gaps - which, far wider than pay gaps, need urgent attention from policy-makers as well as the academic community if the principle of equal treatment is to be taken seriously. - Noel Whiteside, Professor of Sociology, University of Warwick, UK"Europe has done a lot for gender balance in employment in recent decades. As the European population ages and as more and more women find that they have to rely on pensions for their economic independence, it is a good time to wonder whether these advances will carry over to older ages. The European Union has taken a lead in promoting gender balance in employment; as a result millions of women across the EU are better off than they would have been. It is time for the EU to shift its attention to what happens as these women enter retirement. The authors must be commended for pointing out that progress in employment does not automatically lead to improvements in pensions; gender inequality in pensions is an issue that policy makers can no longer afford to ignore." - Anna Diamantopoulou, President, DIKTIO - Network; former European Commissioner, Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, EU; former Minister for Education, Lifelong Learning and Religious Affairs, Greece"While gender gaps in pay have received considerable attention from scholars of gender and economics, gender gaps in pensions have been far less studied. This important book begins to fill that lacuna. Comparing pension regimes and outcomes both within Europe and internationally, the findings of this book will be critical to the design of policies for aging populations." - Julie A. Nelson, Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts Boston; Author of Economics for Humans