FAF Vision
Women over fifty live empowered lives, rich in meaning and satisfaction.
Why FAF is needed?
Women in Australia are living an average of 30 years more than they did 100 years ago. These extra years tend to be lived healthily rather than representing an extended period of ill health. This change in healthy life expectancy presents unique opportunities and challenges.
What we know from research is that women who age well are those who live flourishing lives, characterised by:
An optimistic and positive mindset.
Engagement with and interest in the world.
Quality relationships.
Experience of mastery and accomplishment.
A sense of meaning and purpose in life.
Supportive families.
Research reports that women over fifty are in the prime of their lives.
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Confident
Women over fifty are more likely to try new things than when they were younger.
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Happy
Women experience increased happiness after fifty. Stress decreases and women over fifty rediscover peace.
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Sexy
Women over fifty are more satisfied with their sex life than when they were younger.
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Talented
There are more professional women over fifty than at any other time in history.
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Knowledgeable
Women over fifty are more educated than the generations that came before them.
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Successful
Many women are achieving their greatest accomplishments and making their biggest impact in the years after fifty.
Navigating life after fifty can be difficult.
Women sometimes feel:
Overlooked, undervalued and unsupported.
Fear and anxiety about their perception of an ‘inevitable decline into dithery-ness, dysfunction and death’. They just don’t know what the future holds.
Disempowered. They have been used to showing up for family and work but not for themselves.
Unsure how to transition into elderhood. There are no clear roadmaps to navigate life after fifty and there are too few visible and positive role models.
At a societal level, the world is all too often missing out on the talents of women over fifty. This happens because there is no value placed on older women and what they have to offer. Women’s talents lie dormant and women struggle to be seen as, or experience themselves as, active agents in their own lives and in the world.
Women can also experience considerable gender and age-related inequities.
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The Numbers
Australians over fifty make up 30% of the population and more than half of these are women.
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Superannuation
Women retire with 42% less super than men. This can be attributed to the pay gap between men and women and the fact that many women commit years to unpaid care of their children and parents.
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Ageism in the Workplace
55% of people over 50 report feeling undervalued in the workplace.
52% say this is because their contribution is not fully recognised.
39% say it’s because their colleagues are dismissive or not fully recognised
32% say it’s because they find it hard to have their voice heard.
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Homelessness
Women over 55 years are now the fastest growing cohort of homeless people in Australia.
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Barriers to Employment
1 in 5 Australians aged 55 years or over claim age is a major barrier to finding or getting hours of paid work.
One in 10 businesses report they have an age they will not recruit above, with the average being 50 years old.
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Media and Ageism
Two thirds of women over fifty feel misrepresented by media.
