Farewell to Poverty in Old Age! Gender Justice in Work and Old Age

13 March 2014 - CPC member Dr Traute Meyer presented her work 'Beveridge, not Bismarck! European lessons to be learnt for old-age security of women and men in Germany' at an event which explored, in an international comparison, how education, labour market, family and pension policies are inter-related, and also reflected upon both different national development paths and recent developments and reforms in various countries.

The event was hosted by Friedrich-Evert-Stiftung, Berlin, as part of the International Week of Justice 2014.

Dr Meyer discussed what causal factors lead to women living in poverty in old age in the Global South, and what can be learned from international practice that could be of benefit to German social and labour market policy? The German pension system places those people who do not conform to the model of the standard pensioner at a disadvantage. Especially for many women, the combination of a low number of years in which they paid contributions into the pension system and the »Bismarck« pension pave the way to poverty in old age. A comparison with other countries shows that there are alternatives.

Discussants included: Elke Ferner, MP, State Secretary in the Federal Ministry for Family, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth; Maria Floro, Associate Professor of Economics, College of Arts and Science of the American University, Washington D.C. & University of the Philippines; and Hannelore Buls, Chairwoman of the Deutsche Frauenrat.

The full programme for the event including a link to Dr Meyer's study, is available on the FES international website.

You can also read a recently published article on the subject by Dr Meyer in the German newspaper taz.de

Posted 11/03/2014 11:57