Gender, Ageing and Extended Working Life ─ Cross-national Perspectives

As nations worldwide grapple with aging populations and rising social security costs, many have chosen to raise retirement ages. That change is predicated on the assumption that there is appropriate employment available for people who are of an age that in the past would likely have meant they were out of the workforce. This book challenges that assumption, along with the gender-neutral way the issue of retirement age is generally treated. A group of international contributors applies life-course approaches to understanding evolving definitions of work and retirement, the range of transitions from paid work to retirement and how they differ for men, women, and those in different family circumstances and occupations. Drawing on data from Australia, Ireland, Germany, Portugal, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the book will be essential reading for researchers and students, and for policy makers who formulate and implement employment and retirement policies.

Aine Ni Leime is an outgoing Marie Sklodowska-Curie Research Fellow at the National University of Ireland Galway. Debra Street is chair of the Department of Sociology at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Sarah Vickerstaff is professor of work and employment at the University of Kent. Clary Krekula is associate professor of sociology at Karlstad University, Sweden. Wendy Loretto is professor of organizational behavior at the University of Edinburgh Business School.