August 19, 2021
IN THIS ISSUE

Announcing GSA Webinar in conjunction with the GSA Annual Meeting: Unequal Prospects for Continued Work in Later Life: What do we need to do? 

Announcing Network sponsorship of Age in the Workplace (AWM) meeting at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands

Call for Chapters for new Handbook on Inequalities in Later Life 
GSA Webinar: In conjunction with the GSA 2021 Annual Scientific Meeting
Unequal prospects for working longer, before and after the pandemic: What can we do?
October 7, 2021, Noon, EDT
Older workers, especially those nearing retirement age, who had not recovered from the impact of previous recessions, have been even more adversely affected during the pandemic by both working conditions and the ensuing recession. Reductions in employment and earnings, increased early Social Security claiming, and reduced retirement savings have all been reported. Older workers exited the workforce in significant numbers, retiring in the first month of the pandemic rather than risk infection. Women, racial minorities, and other ethnic groups have been particularly vulnerable to this upheaval. Concerns about the vulnerability of older workers to infection increased the likelihood of age discrimination for those who remained working.

The goal of this webinar is to consider recommendations for employers and public policymakers to ameliorate the consequences of these recent shocks. Teresa Ghilarducci will present “false assumptions supporting the ‘working longer’ agenda” with a focus on those most affected by the pandemic—women, racial and ethnic minorities. Distinguished discussants will provide commentary that includes recommendations for mechanisms and processes to ameliorate the consequences of twin shocks—the pandemic and the ensuing recession—and for much-needed new workplace-based research tracking the employer-employee relationship over time. To register, go here.

Presented by the Sloan Research Network on Aging & Work
Chair 
Jacquelyn B. James, PhD, FGSA—Director, Sloan Research Network on Aging & Work, Boston College School of Social Work, MA.
Presenter 
Teresa Ghilarducci, PhD—Bernard L. and Irene Schwartz Professor of Economics, The New School for Social Research, NY.
Discussant
Mo Wang, PhD—Lanzillotti-McKethan Eminent Scholar Chair, University of Florida Warrington College of Business, FL.
Discussant
Ernest Gonzales, PhD, MSW—Associate Professor, New York University Silver School of Social Work, NY.
Discussant
Courtney Coile, PhD—Professor of Economics, Wellesley College, MA.

The Sloan Research Network on Aging & Work will sponsor the fall meeting of the Age in the Workplace meeting in Groningen, the Netherlands
The Age in the Workplace meeting (AWM) gathers leading work and aging researchers from (Eastern) Europe, the U.S., and Australia to discuss their latest insights on topics around successful aging at work, HR practices for healthy aging at work, knowledge transfer between different generations at work, aging workers and technology, and adjustment to and health/well-being during retirement. This small group event, which has been held bi-annually since 2011, has grown steadily over the years and represents multiple disciplines, including economics & management, organizational psychology, sociology, gerontology and more. Previous meetings were held in Rovereto, Italy; Limerick, Ireland; Luebeck, Germany; and St. Gallen, Switzerland. The 2021 meeting will be held in Groningen, the Netherlands from October 27-29, 2021 (if the pandemic permits; otherwise online) and is conjointly organized by the Department of Human Resource Studies at Tilburg University (Dorien Kooij) and the Department of Organizational Psychology at the University of Groningen (Susanne Scheibe). The meeting theme is “A strengths-based approach on getting older: Unique contributions of older workers.” The meeting is preceded by a PhD workshop funded by the Oxford University Press and the University of Florida (Mo Wang).
Seeking contributions to the Handbook of Inequalities in Later Life to be published by Edward Elgar Publishing as part of its Ageing, Work and Welfare Series. Editors: Dr. Catherine Earl Ph.D. and Dr. Philip Taylor Ph.D. FGSA
Amid much international debate about the economic and social implications of increasing longevity and efforts to promote successful aging, this book will be concerned with the influence of cumulative advantage and disadvantage on people’s later life transitions and outcomes, with a focus on issues of employment, retirement, wealth, morbidity and mortality. Who will be the winners and losers in the global longevity race and how will public policy need to be reshaped in response? Chapters will particularly focus on education, race and ethnicity, gender, occupational history, and geography as factors that may determine how successful people are at aging.

In particular, these authors are interested to hear from prospective authors of empirically rich studies that address the complexities of systemic inequalities for aging populations. They envision chapters approaching intersections of inequalities and aging from a range of perspectives that include but are not limited to, first nations; ethnic and migrant communities; people with congenital acquired or age-related dis/ability and mental illness; diverse workers, such as high skill, low skill, informal and migrant labor, debt slaves and gig workers; prisoners, detainees and inmates of other institutional settings; socially vulnerable people, for example in rural or remote locations, homeless, stateless and unemployed. They encourage authors to identify relevant policy gaps and to consider the cumulative effect of mainstream policy challenges, such as the gender pay gap or the digital divide, on economic security, longevity, and inequalities in later life. 

The authors are seeking multiple contributions of approximately 5000 words under the following headings and would be pleased to discuss other ideas from potential contributors.
1. Indigenous peoples 
2. Global South and developing countries
3. Dis/ability
4. Incarceration and detention
5. Migrants  
6. Social isolation 
7. Pandemic and crises
8. Evolving policy and institutional frameworks

Contributions will be required by the end of February 2022 and the book will be published by the end of the year. Please contact Catherine Earl or Philip Taylor to discuss a potential contribution and for more information.
In the meantime, please feel free to direct any questions, suggestions, or other ideas about Network activities to me at [email protected].

With best regards to all of you.
Jackie

Jacquelyn James
Director, Sloan Research Network on Aging & Work
Boston College 
 
Network Steering Committee: Cal Halvorsen, Kendra Jason, Ruth Kanfer, Christina Matz-Costa, Phyllis Moen, Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes, Sara Rix, Harvey Sterns, Philip Taylor, Johanna Thunell