This project compares the age management strategies of companies in Switzerland to the expectations and experiences of employees over age 50 and investigates how new inequalities between men and women arise for this age group.
Background
For a society in which the population is ageing and skilled personnel and experienced staff are scarce, it is important to keep older employees in the labour market. This project studies how gender differences arise in career paths and examines the recruiting, education and further training, promotion and pay of older employees as well as their working conditions and job benefits. It will identify structural, institutional and individual mechanisms that foster or obstruct gender equality in the second half of working life.
Aim
The project comprises three levels of analysis:
- A statistical overview of the development of the gainful employment of older employees in a number of European countries in the last 20 years and a stock-taking of government measures in Switzerland affecting the working conditions and job benefits of older employees of both sexes (Old Age Insurance, unemployment insurance, Invalidity Insurance, occupational pension scheme etc.).
- 2. An analysis of strategies and practices in human resources management in several Swiss companies and their effects on the careers of older employees. The project will pay special attention to whether the companies in various fields follow a gender equality policy and an age management strategy.
- 3. A qualitative study of the careers of approximately 60 older employees capturing the parameters of their working conditions and job benefits and the employees’ subjective attitudes on different areas of life (work – family – leisure time) in the second half of their working lives.
Significance
The employability of older employees is a central topic for decision-makers in the government and the economy. Based on the project findings, recommendations will be made as to how attention to gender equality in the workplace can be fostered in the context of a company’s age management.
Original title: EGALISE - L'égalité des seniors en emploi
Grant: CHF 318‘893.-
Duration: 36 months
Project leader
- Professor Nicky Le Feuvre, Institut des sciences sociales (ISS), University of Lausanne