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By Lahle Wolfe, About.com Guide
In 1988 the World Council of Churches launched the Ecumenical Decade of the Churches in
Solidarity with Women as a ten-year programme offered to the churches. It was to provide a time for the
churches to look at their structures, their teachings and practices with a commitment to the full
participation of women. It was an opportunity for the churches to reflect on the lives of women in society
and to stand in courageous solidarity with all women. Ecumenical Team Visits or "Living Letters" were
sent to the churches around the world at the mid-Decade point to affirm the achievements made and to
challenge the churches to move forward in their commitments to women. The story the "living letters"
brought back described with great enthusiasm the solidarity among women and the love and commitment
of women to the churches. But it also pointed to the unfinished agenda - the many unresolved questions
and concerns of women. This document records some of those challenges and calls on the churches for
their continued solidarity beyond 1998.
...and in that dry land, endless as a desert, we rediscovered a source, pouring out fresh water. Gathered
around the water we danced with joy; no more forgotten, invisible, suffocated, but blossoming and
creating. Opening gates, raising our voices. Moving walls, building on ruins. And many more came from
within the shadows. We celebrated our survival. We welcomed each other into visibility. But the water
does not meet us only in the depth of the source; water is running down our cheeks. Tears caused by a
violent hand. Silent tears. Tears caused by unjust systems and practices. Memories and experiences - all
that has happened and all that still goes on... breaks out into anger. All this can no longer be! There has
to be change! Therefore we speak again...
The Ecumenical Decade of the Churches in Solidarity with Women is grounded in the biblical truth of the
common blessing of women and men in creation (Gen.1:27) and the common responsibility they share for
nurturing and serving the church and the world. Our theologies are shaped by biblical words, historical
traditions of the Church, our sacramental experiences and through the power of the Holy Spirit. In all of
these, we affirm that equality between women and men is at the core. Throughout the scriptures, in spite
of the very patriarchal times, women’s witness was strong, and through acts of faith and daring
assertions, women broadened the mission and ministry of Jesus! The Bible records inspiring examples of
women’s spirituality - and God blessed them! The first baptismal liturgies faithfully kept this vision when
they affirmed that "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer
male or female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus" (Gal 3:28).
Christian history has marginalised or has, on occasion, even ignored this central teaching. So the
affirmation of "the discipleship of equals" is regretfully still largely unrealised. In fact the Bible has been
used to legitimise the marginalisation and exclusion of women from many spheres. The Decade has
offered us a fresh opportunity to become a community of women and men. We long for a church where
women are empowered to minister and serve as well as to live violence-free lives, unrestricted by
traditional, often culturally imposed, gender role expectations and assumptions.
Today, we are called to recognise and welcome women and men as full partners on the journey towards
a just world order where no one will be excluded. The Decade has provided an opportunity for women
and men of faith - the Churches - to be in solidarity with all women in church and society, to overcome the
years of oppression that millions of the women in our world daily experience. The church is called to
conversion so as to stand in active solidarity with all women. This calls for a sometimes radical reordering
of aspects of the life of the church, rooted in a reinterpretation and reconstruction of those practices and
teachings that discriminate against women.
As we move beyond the Ecumenical Decade and into the 21st century, we bring to the churches the
following challenges, which have been identified by women, for action:
• On economic justice: Recognising the context of growing globalisation of economies and the
concurrent liberalisation of markets, individualisation and cuts in social services/welfare, and the
fact that women (and children too) are the most directly affected by these trends, we call on the
churches and the ecumenical movement to:
○ speak out clearly about these trends which exclude whole nations and peoples;
○ demand a cancellation of internal and external debts of the poorest nations, as part of the
Jubilee challenge, and to take steps to ensure that the resources so saved are used to
improve the quality of life of the poor, especially women and children;
○ work for changes in laws that exclude women from property and other rights;
○ promote demilitarisation and challenge the links between militarisation, the arms trade
and global economic institutions; establish specific programmes/desks in all churches for
economic issues; include intentionally gender perspectives in analysis and study;
○ in order to prepare women for leadership, establish more scholarships for them;
○ ensure equal salaries for women and men in church institutions and structures;
○ break the link between the exploitation of the earth and economic growth, and share the
responsibility for the care of the earth and all of creation.
• On participation: Participation of all its members is an ethical imperative for the church. To this
end we call on the churches to:
○ provide more theological training opportunities for women;
○ include in theological education/courses the theological voices and contributions of
women and other socially excluded groups;
○ look again at the liturgical life and ministry of the church in order to incorporate the
experiences and spiritual gifts of women;
○ develop gender policies for all churches and organisations;
○ provide gender sensitivity training for all male and female clergy and leaders of the
churches and church-run institutions, at all levels of administration of the churches and
ecumenical organisations;
○ encourage women to take on leadership roles and support them so that they can offer
new understandings of power and ways of using it;
○ provide support structures for women clergy and other women working in the churches;
○ strengthen young women’s networks and organisations and develop instruments to
incorporate the contributions of young women;
○ ensure equal participation of women and other excluded groups in all levels of the life of
the church with specially set quotas, where necessary;
○ reinstate the ancient tradition of ordination of women to the diaconate.
• On racism: Recognising that new forms of racism and ethnic tensions are emerging in all parts of
the world, and that racism and xenophobia have links with economic exploitation, cultural
justifications and exclusion of millions in our world, we call on the churches and the ecumenical
movement to:
○ strengthen where present, and initiate where non-existent, programmes that tackle
racism and xenophobia, including within them a strong educational component;
○ develop a new inclusive vocabulary and a new analysis of racism and xenophobia, taking
into account that it exists even within the life of the churches, and that sometimes the
language of liturgy and theology and the images and symbols we use in the churches
reinforce racial prejudices;
○ develop new ways of celebrating the diversity and differences among us as God’s gift to
the world and develop educational instruments to strengthen this vision;
○ provide a strong voice of solidarity with Indigenous peoples all over the world and support
the women of Indigenous communities in their struggles for dignity, sovereignity and land
rights;
○ strengthen and support the SISTERS (Sisters in Struggle to Eliminate Racism and
Sexism) network at the regional and national level and involve all church women’s
networks in doing this.
• On violence against women: Recognising the increasing violence in our societies and
particularly the violence against women, we call on the churches to denounce the various forms
of violence, culturally sanctioned or not, against women inside and outside the church. We call on
the church to declare that violence against women is a sin. We urge them to take the side of the
victim instead of protecting the agressor, and to offer pastoral counselling that targets a concrete
improvement in the survivor’s life situation instead of simply preaching patience, silence and
submission. To this end we call on the churches to:
○ deconstruct the often used theological explanations and justifications of violence;
○ reconstruct a new theological response to be strongly affirmed by church leaders and
preachers;
○ provide a caring and safe atmosphere for women to be able to speak out fearlessly about
the violence they experience;
○ provide the space and atmosphere for open discussions on human sexuality and affirm
the right of women to make responsible sexual choices;
○ find ways to expose cases of clergy sexual abuse and abuse by other congregational
members, and use appropriate administrative decision making processes which include
the active presence of women, to deal with the perpetrators and survivors of violence;
○ develop pastoral care for victims and congregations where clergy sexual abuse takes
place;
○ develop disciplinary as well as pastoral responses to abusers;
○ focus education in congregations on male violence and male sexuality and encourage the
formation of men’s groups to discuss these issues;
○ recognise violence against women as human rights violations and affirm the new
definitions of human rights that women bring, based on their experiences of violence in
their own contexts;
○ denounce the rape of women and girls in any circumstances including the use of rape as
a weapon of war and to challenge governments to ensure the safety of women and
children in times of war and conflict (as per the Geneva Conventions).
We call on the churches and the ecumenical movement, particularly the World Council of Churches, to set
in place implementing and monitoring instruments and programmes to ensure that the above concerns
and recommendations are fulfilled.
... and the source is still there, refreshing water, confirming our being, recognising and welcoming. The
water, it keeps flowing, opening new paths, cleansing, healing, connecting, nourishing the roots of our
dreams ...it never runs dry.
The Decade Festival Office
Justice, Peace and Creation Unit Back to Decade Festival page
World Council of Churches
P.O. Box 2100 Back to list of Assembly materials
1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
Tel: (+41 22) 791 6213 Back to WCC homepage
Fax: (+41 22) 791 6409
E-mail: Contact us"
Much as we’d like it otherwise, women are still facing obstacles that men are not. Yes, we’ve made
progress…but there’s a lot more to be done before we can drop the phrase “special challenges”.
• A vast majority of women are still attempting to do it all – have a successful career, be a fabulous
parent and spouse, run a household and still have time for other interests. How exactly do you
this? Give up sleep entirely?
The Productivity Paradox: How Sony Pictures Gets More Out of People by Demanding Less
by Tony Schwartz
$6.95
Buy it now »
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You’re in luck. In this post you will not only find ten ways to challenge a
woman but also the answers to the question above.
Below is the short list and this information is dangerous so please use it responsibly.
I encourage everyone looking for the answers above to continue reading because I feel you will
not leave this page without gaining incredible knowledge on what a challenge is all about, how
to be that challenge without games, and a comfortable knoweldge of who you are and how to get
where you want to be. If not I want to hear about it below.
Top Ten Ways to Challenge Women
˜
1.) You show interest by enjoying your own life and challenging her to join you.
2). Give her just enough space to wonder what you’re doing.
3.) Tell funny stories about you and your friends, that are women.
4) Avoid answering every question she asks about you too directly.
5.) Show just enough interest to give her the opportunity to miss you.
6.) A mystery challenges the mind to want to know more.
7.) Tease her!
8.) Compete over something.
9.) Be creative. Be Murhpy’s Law and challenge yourself.
10.) Don’t be afraid to reject women the right way.
˜
I failed at being a challenge because I became too available, too accommodating, and never
teased. I thought there were player tactics. I was just too nice to use manipulative ways. I tried
to separate myself from the typical jerk having his way with women by doing the opposite.
And it never worked!
All it accomplished was manipulation from the far left of the masculinity scale, the “too nice”
side. The effect of this on any woman I interacted with was anything but a challenge. I was
the typical nice guy man-whore so to speak but I wasn’t getting laid. I was just that easy.
Now I’m not going to lie to you and tell you the answers to those questions above are easily
understood then put in practice. I’m not going to tell you that there is a solid black and white line
dividing the right answer from the wrong answer. That just wouldn’t be fair to you at all. But I
did want to talk a little about what I feel are the answers and we’ll see where that leads us.
• When is it safe to let a woman know you like her without scaring her away?
The words in this question of “letting a woman know” are very misleading. You should show
interest in her without directly making it clear you like her. Save the “I like You!” for the kids in
school. I realize that you hear women all the time saying,
“I wish men would just let me know they like me. Why do they have to play games.”
I’m blatantly telling you to ignore it and don’t let it affect your actions. The only time you should
tell her instead of showing interest is when you are in a committed stable relationship. And even
then do it sparingly.
One of the best dating coaches out there for men and women actually gives this advice to
women.
Women always want men to express their feelings. One of the biggest complaints I hear from my
women clients is:
“Why can’t he just say he loves me?” or “I wish he would just compliment me more.”
What you need to pay attention to and realize, though, is that men do tell you they love you and
compliment you … they just do it USING THEIR OWN LANGUAGE.
Actually, here’s something most experts never tell you about men: MEN SOMETIMES DON’T
USE WORDS AT ALL WHEN THEY ARE COMMUNICATING WITH YOU.
Accepting this truism about men will help you to better understand men’s verbal and non-verbal
language.
Sometimes it’s not what men say, but it’s their actions that are significant. It is necessary for
women to learn to interpret men’s very roundabout way of communicating with them.
Break New Relationship Man Code
David Wygant
You see I do firmly believe when in a long-term relationship you should verbally express your
feelings occasionally. Particularly when your girlfriend or wife is under real extreme mental or
physical stress such as death in her family. I only believe this because I feel it can be unfair at
times, to expect a woman to spend extra energy figuring you out.
With all that said. Here are the,
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Egypt in Turmoil
NewsHour Coverage and Analysis of the Cairo Protests
Health Posted: Jan. 18, 2011, 3:35 p.m. ET
Violence Against Women Among Challenges in Haiti
Human rights groups are calling for more security measures in the tent camps of
Port-au-Prince to reduce the number of rapes and incidents of sexual violence.
ARTICLE TOOLS
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Amnesty International reported this month that the risk of rape for women living in
camps has increased dramatically over the past year. The organization consulted
grassroots groups working with women on the ground and interviewed more than
50 victims.
“Women and girls are in a situation of extreme vulnerability [in the camps],
especially the girls without the protective measures like school or a safe place to
play,” Ducos said. The attackers, he said, are usually groups of young men roaming
camps looking for victims.
But Sylvie van den Wildenberg with the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti
(MINUSTAH) said sexual violence in the camps has decreased since the early
months after the quake with the implementation of security measures. Regular
patrols by MINUSTAH and the Haitian police were put in place to reign in crime and
more lighting in the camps was added.
"Sexual violence was already a structural problem in the society, that is what we
found out from the testimonies of the women in the camp," van den Wildenberg
said. "Yes, it was exacerbated by the earthquake and the situation in the camps,
but in the camps now it's reduced and I would say the women in the camps now are
better protected than some of the women in other areas."
The number of rapes that have taken place in the camps is unknown – the new
report does not include an estimate but says hundreds of cases have been
reported--and data on sexual crimes prior to the earthquake is also sporadic, says
Emmanuelle Schneider, spokesperson for the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs in Haiti.
However, Schneider acknowledged that patrols are not set up for all of the more
than 1,100 camps in and around Port-au-Prince, and that camps that are more
informal and not as well serviced by aid organizations could be more vulnerable.
Amnesty International called for beefing up and expanding the current security
measures, as well as encouraging community involvement in cutting down the
crimes and full prosecution of perpetrators.
Madre, an international women’s rights group based in the United States, said its
sister organization in Haiti, the Commission of Women Victims for Victims, has
documented more than 300 rapes in 22 camps it has worked in since the quake.
Many women are scared to come forward for medical help or to pursue prosecution,
said Madre's human rights advocacy director Lisa Davis. But the organization has
observed that attackers are becoming more brazen and are acting with impunity
because so few cases end in a conviction.
“A woman was pulled into a car in broad daylight by five men, so we are starting to
see women raped during the day on the streets in front of people,” Davis said.
One of the rape survivors Amnesty International interviewed, ‘Denise," told
researchers she would have preferred to die in the earthquake instead of
experiencing what she did.
“On 10 June, I was sleeping under my tarp shelter when three men ripped it, came
in and raped me,” she told researchers “These men came to the camp to do just
that. A young girl from the camp was also raped.”
On Wednesday, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights issued
recommendations to the Haitian government to take immediate action to prevent
sexual violence against women and girls in the camps. The petition was submitted
by Madre and other women’s rights advocacy groups, who will now use the decision
to advocate action by the United Nations.
Amnesty also hopes the United Nations will start to expand its response to the
issue.
“What we are recommending is that the government and the U.N. system and other
humanitarian organizations make prevention and response to sexual violence a
priority as part of the humanitarian response,” Amnesty's Ducos said. “There is no
alternative for these women and girls”
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Regina 2 weeks ago
I totally agree with Cyrus. The USA were always looked upon as the leader of the
world, or maybe in Asia's perception. But USA should really increase the security
measures in Haiti.
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Feb. 8, 2011
Republicans Rekindle Abortion Debate on Capitol Hill
Feb. 8, 2011
Cities, States Face Tough Choices on Debt Amid Cash-Flow Concerns
Feb. 8, 2011
If a Boy Scout Can Get Nuclear Materials, What's Stopping Terrorists?
LESSON PLAN:
Archaeological Sites in Peril
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Egyptian Teen Reports on Political Protests
Feb. 8, 2011
CONCLUSION
Laws that enforce equality in the workplace are important, many agree. Critical, it seems, are
parents who encourage their children to pursue their passions. Marechaux and Johnson reported
that their parents early on removed any barriers to achievement. Both were told they could be
whatever they wanted to be, and they believed it. Hodge said she attended an all-girls’ school
where gender was never an issue. Likewise, Weertman’s parents were fully supportive of her—
with one gender-neutral caveat. “My parents always left me with the feeling I could do anything
I wanted to do, as long as I didn’t catch cold,” she said.
That belief served Weertman well. When she began her career in materials science, there were
no female role models or professors. Now, at 79, Weertman is an esteemed member of the
materials science community, as well as a role model and professor. She continues to work in her
retirement, paring her hours to just 50 or 60 a week, she says. She discusses the schedule with no
complaints.
Marechaux’ mother told her she could even be a nuclear physicist one day, if she so desired.
Marechaux proved her mother right. She did her masters degree—polistron annihilation in nickel
—in nuclear physics. Now, Marechaux sleeps with a handheld computer under her pillow. If she
wakes up with a thought about one of the many projects she is working on, she can type it
quickly so it will not be lost. Her work and social life blend so that she is rarely off duty. A self-
proclaimed workaholic, Marechaux cannot imagine the 9-to-5 lifestyle she has heard about from
friends.
Hodge said she was raised with few gender-based expectations. Strong in math, she gravitated
toward materials science in college. Now, she works 60 to 70 hours a week in the lab, making
time for sleep and little else. She envisions a life in science, and as perplexed as she is by
limitations the work imposes on her personal life, she would not choose anything else. “I think
the life of a scientist is a beautiful life,” Hodge said. And this time, she was not laughing.
Some times sports are just sports. Like the Super Bowl this weekend, they can be fun to watch and don't mean much.
Sometimes though, sports serve as a platform for a greater cause. I'm reminded of this because the day before the
Super Bowl, February 5, was the one-year anniversary of Brendan Burke's tragic and untimely death. Burke died
skidding on an icy Indiana road and crashing into an oncoming Ford truck, but his unique and unusual legacy is still
felt strongly in the National Hockey League community and beyond.
Burke was a varsity goaltender in high school, but quit the team before graduation. He went on to become the student
manager of the University of Miami hockey team. Until November 2009, his only real claim to widespread hockey
fame was as the son of the more famous Burke: Brian, the current GM of the Maple Leafs and architect of the 2007
Stanley Cup winning Anaheim Ducks.
Brendan became famous in his own right, partly still due to his connection to his father, but also as a gay advocate in
hockey. Growing up in the world of hockey, which can be a homophobic culture at times, Brendan quit his high school
team for fear his teammates would find out he was gay. Since coming out in his sophomore year at the University of
Miami and finding tremendous support from both his family and hockey team, Brendan decided to spread his story.
Brendan's efforts, impressive as they were, won't be remembered in the same way as Jackie Robinson breaking the
colour barrier or Muhammad Ali declaring himself a pacifist, simply because Burke was no star of the game. But for
every Robinson, for every Ali, there's a precursor, someone of lesser stature who paves the way forward. In baseball,
60 years before Robinson took the field, there was Moses Fleetwood Walker, a middling catcher for the now-defunct
American Association, the real first African-American to play professional baseball.
Still, Burke's experience and the media reaction it spawned shows that the time for another watershed moment in
sports is drawing near. Soon, there will likely be an openly gay athlete in one of the "Big Four" (NHL, MLB, NBA, and
NFL). And, even though hockey is behind in many ways (no retired hockey player has ever come out, the locker room
culture is often perceived as homophobic), my money is still on the NHL, Canada's league, to produce the first.
There have been numerous gay athletes in baseball, hockey, football, and basketball, and some have even come out
publicly after retiring, but none were openly gay during their playing careers. Glenn Burke, no relation to Brian and
Brendan, the man known for popularizing the high-five after home runs in baseball, has said that both his teammates
and team management were aware of his sexual orientation, and that this played a role in prematurely ending his
career. Still, it's unclear in Glenn's case to what degree knowledge of his sexuality was public.
It's possible that a hockey player will go much further than Glenn Burke ever did, and will come out, not only to
teammates and management, but to the entire media circus. It'll be tough to do, and only a superior player or a
person of superior character will be able to do it—the former because he won't have to fear losing his job, and the
latter because he'll take the risk for a greater cause. Hockey players, for all their "pugnacity, testosterone, truculence,
and belligerence" are still mostly Canadian kids. And my assumption for Canadians is a higher degree of tolerance
than found elsewhere. As recently out journalist Steve Buckley said in an interview with The Good Men Project,
"[R]eading all these emails in the last couple weeks, everybody's got a lesbian sister. Everyone's got a nephew who
is gay. Everyone's got somebody in their lives who's gay. And it's not a question. People say, ‘Well, can a Major
League baseball player be out? Would his teammates accept him?' And that misses the point. It's not a question of
whether those teammates will accept him. It's a question of whether those teammates have already accepted other
people in their lives who are gay or lesbian or transgendered."
Furthermore, Sean Avery, widely regarded as one of the bigger meatheads in professional hockey, has expressed on
record his solidarity with any youths who love hockey but are afraid to come out to their teammates. If Avery can
show this kind of tolerance, anybody can. I have a lot of faith in Canada, and in hockey as a result, to follow in the
trail Brendan began to blaze and bring down the next major prejudice in sports
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Home > Student > Career Planning > Getting a Job
Employment law: Will old prejudices die hard?
Later this year it will be illegal for employers to discriminate on age grounds. Are they ready?
Kate Hilpern reports
Thursday, 2 February 2006
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Age discrimination regulations are the biggest piece of legislation to hit the UK this decade.
Come 1 October this year, employers must ensure that all areas of the employment cycle -
recruitment, training and development, promotion, redundancy and retirement - operate age-
neutral policies. So how prepared are businesses?
Not very, if a number of new studies are anything to go by. One of the biggest pieces of recent
research, commissioned by employment law experts Croner, found that ageism is considered
more socially acceptable than other prejudices, such as race and religion. Respondents to the
study, all employees aged in their thirties to fifties, thought that certain jobs in their company
came with an age tag and even if they didn't agree with this in principle, they accepted it as the
"way it has always been".
"Our exploratory study has shown we have a long way to go in addressing age-related prejudice
and has highlighted the uniqueness and enormous scope of this legislation," says Christopher
Mellor, head of the Croner businesses. "Age is the poor relation in the equality debate and
ageism is worryingly not seen by employees as a workplace crime."
Damaging attitudes are present even at the very top of organisations, according to another study
by law firm Eversheds and Cranfield School of Management. They found that only 20 per cent
of organisations have done any preparation for the legislation prior to the October deadline, and a
further 20 per cent believe their executive board is not committed to eliminating ageism.
"The main problem is that age discrimination in the UK seems to be a natural state of mind,"
says Shaun Tyson, professor of HR management at Cranfield School of Management. "There are
very deep and ingrained attitudes among managers. There is also the common notion of
'attributional bias', such as linking a lack of physical fitness with senility."
HR managers - the very people charged with wiping out workplace discrimination of all kinds -
are not immune to ageism. Cranfield's study shows that nearly a third regard older workers as
unreliable, unskilled and less adaptable to change. Meanwhile, younger staff are seen as the main
culprits for taking sick leave and being less loyal to an organisation.
This should serve as a reminder to employers that it's not just older people who can face age
discrimination, says Sam Mercer, director of the Employers Forum on Age (EFA). "Age
discrimination is unique in discrimination legislation because it can affect anybody of any age,"
she says. "In fact, if the assumption is that it's all about older people, employers may become so
busy focusing on not discriminating against the over fifties that they will miss out on ensuring
younger people don't suffer."
She provides the example of an employer asking for three, four or more years' previous
experience. "Employers need to be sure that they really need that level of experience, otherwise
they could be indirectly discriminating against younger people. I know some people say this is
ridiculous, but there is a huge issue with young people not being able to get jobs because they
don't have the experience and they get stuck in a Catch-22," says Mercer.
Every area of employment will be affected by the new legislation, she says. "So employers
should waste no time in auditing all their employment procedures and getting rid of age bias
wherever possible - not forgetting procedures where there is an indirect age bias."
The other big piece of work that employers should embark on immediately is culture change,
says Mercer. "Employers have until October to make ageism as bad as sexism or racism. If you
think about how culturally acceptable ageism still is, this is a huge task. You can have the best
policies in the world, but if a manager isn't implementing them properly, you'll get into trouble."
The book retailer Borders has been busy focusing on both these areas, says one of its HR
managers, Anna Lloyd: "We are trying to create a culture that recognises the benefits that people
of all ages bring to the company. That's not just because of the forthcoming legislation, but
because it makes good business sense. If we mirror our customer base, we will obviously be
more successful."
Among the recent changes Borders has made to its procedures is eradicating a policy that only
allowed people 17 and over to apply for a job. "The view around young people is often that they
won't be committed to the job, or they'll be late all the time because they go out a lot," says
Lloyd. "But our operations director pointed out that someone gave him a job at 16, and he doesn't
know where he'd be otherwise."
Borders has told the recruitment agencies it uses not to include an age on a CV or its application
form. Borders has removed the section on "qualifications for jobs where they are not seen as
relevant. "Qualifications can be an indicator of age, and we know that even if people don't want
to make assumptions about people based on age, they can do so subconsciously. This just
removes that risk."
Like many companies in the UK, while Borders supports the new legislation, it does have some
concerns about the lack of clarity on certain issues. "There are still no government guidelines on
statutory redundancy, for instance," says Lloyd.
Simon Briault, spokesman for the Federation of Small Businesses, agrees. "The proposals are
pretty badly drafted and leave a lot of unanswered questions," he says. "For example, at one
point it says discrimination will not be justified merely because it may be more expensive not to
discriminate. But only a few paragraphs later it says that economic factors - such as business
needs and considerations of efficiency - may be legitimate aims. For small employers,
minimising expense is completely and inextricably linked to business need, so the wording is
ambiguous."
With the final regulations and guidance not expected until the spring, it's not surprising that
many employers report feeling "anxious" and "desperate" - particularly since in Ireland, which
has had age discrimination legislation in place since 1998, 22 per cent of all discrimination cases
are brought on age grounds.
But, says the EFA, the gist of the legislation is already clear. The main thing to ask yourself with
any policy where age is seen as relevant is, "Can you justify it?". Nine times out of 10, believes
the EFA, you won't be able to.
It's not as if no help is at hand. The conciliation service ACAS is busy putting together guidance
for employers and last November, the EFA held the Essential Age Conference, where companies
were invited to join leading UK employers, lawyers and opinion-formers to learn about age
discrimination at work. Meanwhile, the Age Partnership Group (APG) exists to provide
employers with information to help them prepare. Its website, along with those of Age Positive,
EFA and others (see below) are valuable information sources, with plenty of case studies.
According to the Chartered Management Institute, six out of 10 people say they have been
personally disadvantaged at work because of their age. This, believes Laura Williams, a
researcher at the Work Foundation, is why companies should welcome the legislation. "In fact,
I'd be concerned if they just meet the legislation and don't go beyond it," she says. "This is a real
opportunity to make changes that will benefit the business as a whole."
Further information:
www.agepositive.gov.uk
www.agepositive.gov.uk/agepartnershipgroup
www.efa.org.uk
www.managers.org.uk
THE BIG COMPANY: 'Society isn't made up of one age group'
Caroline Waters is director of people and policy for the BT group, which employs 102,000 staff.
BT was a founding member of the Employers Forum on Age and we've been taking seriously the
issue of age discrimination for a long time. For example, it's been over 10 years since BT had
any age restrictions in recruitment or training policy. As we get closer to the day when the
legislation arrives, we've been doing even more. For instance, we have looked at the employee
life-cycle and taken positive action to ensure everyone of every age is as fulfilled as they can be.
The business benefits are clear. Society isn't made up of one particular age group - it's incredibly
diverse. If you have people reflecting that diversity, you have a much better opportunity of
understanding the needs of your customers. We've also found that if you cast aside stereotypes
like "old people don't learn" and "young people are irresponsible", then you really benefit. Some
of our most critical innovators are older people, while some of our best call centre handlers are
young people. It just goes to show that if you don't pigeon-hole people, your business can be
more successful.
Since we've engaged with employees of various ages on their views on products and services, we
have got an additional degree of understanding about how those age groups outside the company
might receive what we're doing. Age diversity is not just an employment issue, it can inform
your whole strategy. We fully support the legislation, although if I had one concern, it would be
that we could do with more clarity and more guidance about what will actually count as
discrimination.
THE SMALL COMPANY: 'Our oldest worker is 78'
Alex Pringle is managing director of Scotguide, which runs open-top sightseeing buses in
Glasgow, as well as guided tours throughout Scotland. In high season, Scotguide employs 70
staff.
Our emphasis on being age diverse started when we realised our staff retention rate, which is
around 95 per cent, meant a lot of our employees were getting older. The problem was that when
we were faced with serious competition, they didn't want to know. Young people, however, are
more likely to accept competition as part of the job and many enjoy it. Now, our younger staff
tend to take the jobs where facing the competition is key.
Being age positive has been beneficial in other ways too. Employees can, on merit, move up to
the more sophisticated and demanding tours, providing they undergo the relevant training.
Conversely, they can stay with the less demanding tours. This is particularly helpful if an
employee decides they want to work less intensively as they get older. Indeed, the reality is that
our young people tend to like going on seven-day trips, whereas the older ones tend not to.
Being age diverse helps us to meet our staff's needs. Many of the older people tend to want to do
two or three days a week, while the younger ones tend to want the 40-hour week. Employing a
range of ages means we can try to suit everyone. Crucially, whether people come to us at 25 or
55, they have the same opportunities - it's up to them which ones they take up - and because there
is no official retirement policy, everyone is encouraged to work as long as they want. Our oldest
worker is 78.
We are flexible as a business and we have fewer people on standby. It is an economic benefit to
us.
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L ouise Foxcroft is soooo right. There's a whole steaming pile of negative assumptions about the
menopause out there. For example, when I was invited to write this piece, it was all I could do not to
snap, "Oh, so you think I'm a whiskery old trout, do you?" to the poor bloke who asked. I wanted to
make it crystal clear that I have not yet entered the neighbourhood of the, uh, "change", and do not
expect to, thank you very much, for many more moons yet.
Which tells us a lot. The menopause - which entered the medical textbooks as late as the 18th-
century, something which suggests that before that, women simply got on with it - is simply the
cessation of monthly periods, mostly between the ages of 45 to 55. And yet it's not, is it? It's so much
more.
And as society gets increasingly resistant to the whole sorry business of women aging - men mature
like fine wine, woman merely get shockingly old: just check out the vicious treatment meted out to
Madonna for snagging a 22-year-old toyboy called Jesus - it becomes a bigger deal all
the time.
Men ‘mature’ like fine wine, but women are supposed to stay hot and foxy
It is this clammy reality that lies at the heart of Louise Foxcroft's fine and sympathetic study, Hot
Flushes, Cold Science (Granta, £14.99), which is so much more than a book about the end of
something. No: it's about how women are primarily judged by their age, and by their appearance.
Women are supposed to be hot, foxy, and look like their daughters and so on, as we know. When their
monthly periods cease to act as a metronome of their nubility, however, then the passage of time is
impossible to gloss over - even if a woman has HRT, Botox, a dewy skin and the upper arms of
Michelle Obama.
This explains the glut of books telling women how to "survive" with the secret or silent process, as if it
were a battle against some sneaky, cancerous enemy rather than a benign phase that all females will,
at some time, face. A man is only old when he's on a Zimmer. Yet a woman is defined as "old" as soon
as her ovaries shut up shop – even if she's as peppy as all get out. That's not fair.
Post-menopausal women are treated by the media like the witches in Macbeth
No wonder, frankly, that the loss of fertility as flagged by the menopause has come to be dreaded
almost as much as death itself. Post-menopausal women are treated like the witches in Macbeth by
most (male) writers, portrayed with sprouting, warty chins, fat thighs, and a criminal lack of
peachiness.
Hot Flushes, Cold Science made me realise that my own kneejerk reaction to the ostensibly unsexy
subject was - in its way - just as bad as that of male doctors, the medicine men who gave women to
believe that as soon as they were short on oestrogen, they had outlived their usefulness as human
beings.
Which just goes to prove how ingrained prejudice is. I loathe the ageist treatment meted out to
women over the age of 50 who dare to be sexual, and reading Foxcroft made me realise how
pernicious it is. And it's daft. One third of Western women are in menopause, and this very ordinary
life event will affect one half of the entire population of the planet. It will happen to us all. So please,
let's agree on one thing. Women should be allowed a meno-Porsche too. I'm certainly going to have
one, when it's time for the change.
Filed under: Menopause, Rachel Johnson, Women
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Comments
Hide comments
Too right. I dreaded the menopause expecting all kinds of horrific symptoms from sexual dysfunction to osteoporosis and
instant haggery. To my surprise it just happened with very little problem and I look much the same as I ever did, sex is
just the same and the great thing is - no more bloody monthlies and no more wondering every month whether you might
be pregnant no matter if you took precautions it could still happen. The children are grown up, I can do what I want, its a
sweet time for a woman.
Posted by Hilary Easton at 3:26pm on March 20, 2009
A man of fifty plus dating a 22 year old woman would be criticised for baby snatching, yet the writer describes Madonna as
'snagging a 22-year-old toyboy', double standards anyone?
Posted by foolonthehill at 11:29am on March 23, 2009
Dear Peter, SOME people would criticize the man of fifty for dating the 22 year old but many would say good on him. It is
standard proceedure for older men to have younger women, since older men are not seen as losing attractiveness in the
same way as women. Would you disagree with this? I have looked on numerous online dating websites and the majority of
older men say they are looking for women 10 or 20 years younger than them, it is rare for them to say age doesnt matter,
but quite usual for women. There is a double standard right enough, but it is quite the other way! I suspect MOST people
jeer at Madonna for getting involved with someone so much younger but some say good on her.
Posted by Hilary Easton at 12:10pm on March 23, 2009
At least men don't go buying babies in Africa from menopausal need. For toyboy read male prostitute, let's have some
equality here! The 'attractiveness' is usually linked to money, thus rich men can and do buy younger women because they
can, thus with Madonna, but don't crow about it as if it's some kind of triumph for gender equality.
Posted by foolonthehill at 10:59am on March 30, 2009
Innumerable studies have pointed out something we all know anyway: women are most attractive between the ages of
about 17-25 - just the age when they are most fecund (surprise, surprise). Men, whose (much more minor) fertility
problems kick in later, are attractive until much older. I'm sorry to have to point out this unfair biological fact, most
ungentlemanly of me, but if you will bring up the subject...
Posted by James Waldron at 12:17pm on April 5, 2009
Add comment
L ouise Foxcroft is soooo right. There's a whole steaming pile of negative assumptions about
the menopause out there. For example, when I was invited to write this piece, it was all I could
do not to snap, "Oh, so you think I'm a whiskery old trout, do you?" to the poor bloke who asked.
I wanted to make it crystal clear that I have not yet entered the neighbourhood of the, uh,
"change", and do not expect to, thank you very much, for many more moons yet.
Which tells us a lot. The menopause - which entered the medical textbooks as late as the 18th-
century, something which suggests that before that, women simply got on with it - is simply the
cessation of monthly periods, mostly between the ages of 45 to 55. And yet it's not, is it? It's so
much more.
And as society gets increasingly resistant to the whole sorry business of women aging - men
mature like fine wine, woman merely get shockingly old: just check out the vicious treatment
meted out to Madonna for snagging a 22-year-old toyboy called Jesus - it becomes a bigger deal
all
the time.
Men ‘mature’ like fine wine, but women are supposed to stay hot and foxy
It is this clammy reality that lies at the heart of Louise Foxcroft's fine and sympathetic study, Hot
Flushes, Cold Science (Granta, £14.99), which is so much more than a book about the end of
something. No: it's about how women are primarily judged by their age, and by their appearance.
Women are supposed to be hot, foxy, and look like their daughters and so on, as we know. When
their monthly periods cease to act as a metronome of their nubility, however, then the passage of
time is impossible to gloss over - even if a woman has HRT, Botox, a dewy skin and the upper
arms of Michelle Obama.
This explains the glut of books telling women how to "survive" with the secret or silent process,
as if it were a battle against some sneaky, cancerous enemy rather than a benign phase that all
females will, at some time, face. A man is only old when he's on a Zimmer. Yet a woman is
defined as "old" as soon as her ovaries shut up shop – even if she's as peppy as all get out. That's
not fair.
Post-menopausal women are treated by the media like the witches in Macbeth
No wonder, frankly, that the loss of fertility as flagged by the menopause has come to be dreaded
almost as much as death itself. Post-menopausal women are treated like the witches in Macbeth
by most (male) writers, portrayed with sprouting, warty chins, fat thighs, and a criminal lack of
peachiness.
Hot Flushes, Cold Science made me realise that my own kneejerk reaction to the ostensibly
unsexy subject was - in its way - just as bad as that of male doctors, the medicine men who gave
women to believe that as soon as they were short on oestrogen, they had outlived their usefulness
as human beings.
Which just goes to prove how ingrained prejudice is. I loathe the ageist treatment meted out to
women over the age of 50 who dare to be sexual, and reading Foxcroft made me realise how
pernicious it is. And it's daft. One third of Western women are in menopause, and this very
ordinary life event will affect one half of the entire population of the planet. It will happen to us
all. So please, let's agree on one thing. Women should be allowed a meno-Porsche too. I'm
certainly going to have one, when it's time for the change.
Top of Form
Rachel Johnson is a columnist on the Sunday Times and the author of the bestselling Notting Hell
(Penguin 2006) and Shire... MORE
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Agism is often defined as prejudice and discrimination against older people on the basis of age.
Women are disadvantaged and oppressed as a result of sexism. Black and minority ethnic groups
are disadvantaged and oppressed by racism. In similar ways age is held against older people due
to agism. The dominant social order of many contemporary societies has been radically changed
by campaigns against sexism and racism. Many countries have legislation intended to end such
discrimination and to ensure equal opportunities regardless of gender or ethnicity. In contrast
there is comparatively little legal constraint relating to age. Age discrimination is when people
are denied resources or opportunities as a result of being judged to be old. Age prejudice is when
older people are viewed in stereotypical and negative ways. At the individual level these actions
are triggered either by chronological age or by the visual appearance of the person: face, body,
and dress. Collectively, agism may be evident in the way in which services are organized,
located, or described. In his classic definition of agism as “a process of systematic stereotyping
of and discrimination against people because they are old,” Robert Butler (1975) did not see
being old as problematic. However, as he goes on to observe: “Old people are categorized as
senile, rigid in thought and manner, old-fashioned in morality ... log in or subscribe to read full
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Bibliographic Details
Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology
Edited by: George Ritzer
eISBN: 9781405124331
Print publication date: 2007
Cite this article
Table of Contents
Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology
• Editor and Managing Editors
• Advisory Editors
• Contributors
• Acknowledgments to the print edition
• Introduction
• Timeline
• A
○ ...
○ Affirmative Action for Majority Groups
○ Affirmative Action (Race and Ethnic Quotas)
○ Age and Crime
○ Age Identity
○ Age, Period, And Cohort Effects
○ Age Prejudice and Discrimination
○ Agency (and Intention)
○ Agenda Setting
○ Aggression
○ Aging, Demography of
○ ...
• B
• C
• D
• E
• F
• G
• H
• I
• J
• K
• L
• M
• N
• O
• P
• Q
• R
• S
• T
• U
• V
• W
• X
• Y
• Z
• Select Bibliography
• Selected Websites