On this page you will find links to material presented at the Older Women’s Network of NSW initial Forum on Ageism held at the NSW Parliament House on 16 August, 2012.
The idea of the Forum grew out of our experiences as older women. We know from experience that we are either ignored thus made invisible or we are identified as a problem with the potential to inflict all sorts of dire effects on younger generations.
But we are, in part, the products of our history. For some it’s been lucky, for others fraught with difficulties or everything in between.
As women we share the consequences of our biology and the discrimination this has attracted which for many, now means an inevitable slide into poverty as we age.
But, we are resilient, we represent the new age of old age! We strive to be healthy and engaged.
To be an inclusive and ‘fair’ society, governments must recognise the great diversity that we represent, the obstacles that limit our capacity to continue to contribute to our own wellbeing and that of society.
We need a commitment from them to ensure that policies and programs are both gender and age specific, that they are not, in effect, discriminatory.
This Forum addressed some of those impediments and devised Strategies for Change to chart our course to a more positive future, and celebrate the resilience of all women.
Dr Sonia Laverty
Chairperson, OWN NSW
Forum Presentations available for download:
- The Hon Susan Ryan AO, Age Discrimination Commissioner: Australian Human Rights Commission – Rights Resilience Roadblocks. Also for the Power Point Presentation.
- Denele Crozier, Executive Officer, Women’s Health NSW: Rights Responsibility respect.
- Professor Barbara Pocock, Director, Centre for Work and Life, University South Australia: Economics, well-being and working women: Rights, Road Blocks and Resilience
- OWN NSW INC: Strategies for Change.
- OWN NSW INC: 3RsOpeningTitles. Also for the Power Point Presentation.
For more information, please contact the OWN NSW Coordinator.
You might also be interested in:
OWN Guide to My Aged Care
Need aged care services? Download our handy guide to help you navigate the My Aged Care.
It Could be You
It Could be You – Report on homeless older women
Who are the homeless and who is at risk of homelessness? We rarely think about older working women as a potential wave of homeless people but, according to the evidence, that is exactly the problem we face – a problem for which we are poorly prepared.
PREVENTION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST OLDER WOMEN
The Disappearing Age
With funding from a NSW Domestic and Family Violence Grant, OWN NSW has conducted a mapping exercise of our knowledge of violence against older women and document examples of good practice to prevent the violence.
Help us continue to support older women.
Older Women’s Network NSW
The Older Women’s Network in NSW believes in a society rich in social capital, where mutual respect and trust are paramount, where diversity and debate are valued and where people and their networks have a legitimate voice.
CONTACT US
Older Women’s Network NSW
8-10 Victoria Street,
Newtown NSW 2042, Australia.
+61 – 2 – 9519 8044
Newsletter
We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we work and live, and we pay our respects to Elders past and present.
We acknowledge the sorrow of the Stolen Generations and the impacts of colonisation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
OWN NSW supports the Uluru Statement from the Heart, the call for a First Nation's Voice enshrined in the Australian Constitution and a Makarrata Commission to oversee agreement-making and truth-telling.