Getting Older? Send your stories to the new Age Discrimination Commissioner

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As the International Day of Older Persons approaches on 1st October, the new Age Discrimination Commissioner, Susan Ryan, is interested in hearing positive stories about ageing. 

"By sharing positive stories about older people and finding ways to remind the public how much older people continue to contribute to our community, we can start to address attitudes that result in age discrimination” said Commissioner Ryan.

You send in  a story about a colleague, friend or family member. So let's unindate Comissioner Ryan with stories about older women!

Ms Ryan invites people to send in the name, photo and a 300 word story about a person over 50 and their achievements, whether that is another person or themselves. Commissioner Ryan says she hopes to receive lots of inspirational stories that can be used to inspire others.

You can read more about this invitation, and the new role of the Age Discrimination Commissioner at the Human Rights Commission website.

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Launching Age Positive: time to buck age stereotypes

Submitted by Helen Dalley-Fisher on Tue, 04/10/2011 - 08:43

Commissioner Ryan has launched her Age Positive website, which features stories from real people telling of their dynamic, active lives in older age.

“In Australia, as in many other western countries, we have found ourselves in the situation where ageing is viewed negatively and destructive generalisations about our abilities once we pass a certain birthday - be that 45, 50 or older - are accepted as true”. 

“We’ve invited people from the community to send in their positive stories of ageing, and their photographs, so that people can view them - not only for inspiration, but also so they can see that the stereotypes that have developed in our community about older people are flat out wrong in most cases”.

Ms Ryan said that negative stereotypes about older people are not only causing discrimination in employment practices and the provision of financial services, but in an environment of skills shortages, they are costing both businesses and the community economically.

“Ageism and age discrimination is not only seeing people forced out of work or into more tenuous work, it is – through discriminatory policy in areas like superannuation and workers’ compensation – also costing many people their ability to secure financial independence in older age,” said Commissioner Ryan. “For the good of us all, these attitudes have to change.”

Ms Ryan said that a great many people wish to keep working and developing in older age, and are just as capable as they had always been. She said it is time that businesses took steps to ensure they continue to have the opportunities they had before they were judged “too old”.

Read more a the Australian Human Rights Commission website.