These days, the Fact & Figures brochure 2019 from the Gender Equality Department of the Department of the President of the City of Basel. I started leafing through it and and ultimately realized that the differences between women and men have indeed improved, but are still high.

With regard to senior citizens, I would like to quote from the brochure:

"In 2018, 7919 pensioners in Basel-Stadt received supplementary AHV supplementary benefits, of which 62.9% were women."

Poverty and a lack of social security still seem to is still a women's issue. If you leaf through the brochure and notice that for example, the professional position (Northwestern Switzerland 2018) in a managerial role only accounts for women only accounts for 5%, but becomes a fact for 7.8% of men, or only 17.5 % women in a managerial role as opposed to 24.6% men, it is already clear where the first step of the difference lies.

When I read that it is mainly women who do care work and tend to take up poorly paid professions, i.e. earn on average 18.3% less than men for the same job profile, it makes me a little a little. No wonder, they say:

"The average pension fund retirement pension for new new entrants was around 2894 francs per month in 2017, that of women at 1619 francs."

Part-time work, divorces, family planning - these are all are decisive factors. It's no wonder that more and more people are making retirement age are making great efforts to get a job or stay in their job. to stay in their job. The economy should actually be grateful, when senior citizens play an active role. It would be a classic win-win situation. Interested people contribute their life and work experience and can thus secure their livelihood in old age.

I would actually like to call on the business community to take a look around seniors@work! The expertise on display here is unbelievable.... Simply too good not to be called upon!

We founded the O€CO SME network almost 10 years ago and I have been President of the association since 2015. The association sees itself as a think tank for everyone who values a sustainable environmental, energy and economic policy: SMEs, associations, administrations, institutions, politicians and the public. The purpose of the association is to promote an ecological and liberal economic policy through a broad, controlled and growing network.

I have been working for the association mebea (mensch I beruf I arbeit) in Pratteln, which is committed to integrating people into the workplace - particularly in the commercial sector. I have been President of mebea since 2018 and also work as a communications consultant on individual mandates in the fields of politics and business.

The subject of communication has occupied me since I was 23 years old; 45 years have now passed. In large and small communications agencies, and especially in my own agency and in politics, it is repeatedly confirmed that you can't make a Federal Councillor out of a sack of potatoes and a million francs. In the early 1970s, a well-known Zurich PR consultant is said to have told friends that this was possible - presumably after a few bottles of red wine in the Kronenhalle. The fact is that communication has never worked in this way before.

Seniors stand for experience and reliability
To this day, I advise companies, political representatives, associations and non-profit organizations on the development and implementation of strategies.

I have never experienced that products and people can be sold without a profile. A profile consists of rough edges. A good profile is created through hard work and processes that often take a long time and can be exhausting.

There are certainly always cases where people with a high profile slip up. Anyone entering politics must know that they are treading on slippery ground. Many high-profile personalities have experienced this. Even the best profile does not protect against falls.

What can you do about it? You simply stay true to yourself, your goals, values and abilities. You stand on both feet and keep your feet on the ground.

Even at the age of 68, I still have a great thirst for action. With the support of my life partner and senior partner, I advise companies, politicians, associations and non-profit organizations on the development of strategies and their implementation. I am also involved as President of the O€CO SME network and as President of mebea. However, I am already enjoying my (part-time) pensioner's life a little by traveling or taking a lazy day.

Stefan Kaister
Kaister Communication
(Kaister & Partner)
Rütimeyerstrasse 3
CH-4051 Basel
Phone +41 61 681 66 66
Mobile +41 79 226 79 89
[email protected]

Somewhere, I can't remember when, I stumbled across the following statement:

"Care work: 61% women and 39% men perform care work. A total of 9.02 billion hours are worked each year. That is equivalent to 408 billion Swiss francs! Only 7.9 billion hours are spent on paid work."

During my research on this I came across a publication by the Federal Department of Home Affairs / Federal Office for Gender Equality from 2010. Office for Gender Equality, from 2010. The publication is called "Care work".

First and foremost, the brochure primarily states what many people already know:

P. 7: "A total of around 2.8 billion. working hours are spent on the care of children and adults. adults. Four-fifths of this is unpaid care work for children and adults in children and adults in need of care in families, specifically 2.3 billion hours. billion. hours of work. Of these, 2.1 billion hours (over 90%) are spent on childcare. childcare."

p. 9 addresses the imbalance between men and women: Women provide 10.7 hours of care for adults hours (20.5 hours for children). Men cover 7.6 hours in the same area hours (13 hours for children).

Senior citizens do a particularly care work: they look after grandchildren, are active in neighborhood help their neighbors, are involved in churches and communities or organizations for the elderly. Many people aged 65+ look after their sick spouses. spouses who are ill.

If you are already a senior citizen senior, the question of how to reconcile care work with your career falls away. However, the physical and mental strain of caring for sick relatives relatives should not be underestimated. Relief options are in demand.

If the carers are still of working age working age, the employer's understanding is required. If the If the caregiver has to give up work, there are economic costs: The loss of tax revenue and social security contributions, for example. In the longer term, there are costs for social welfare or supplementary benefits. supplementary benefits.

People with care work are more likely to be unemployed. Part-time jobs are not a dime a dozen, especially if the man or woman is already of an advanced age. And unfortunately, skills acquired outside of work are not on employers' wish lists - how short-sighted! It is no coincidence that the seniors@work website is called "Job platform for retired talent"! Because know-how, talent and immense experience are only available to people of an advanced age.

Source:

In the second week of September 2019, the canton of Basel-Stadt published its "Basel 55+" guidelines. What does is meant by such a paper?

Why "Basel 55+" 

Let's start at the beginning: In the canton of Basel-Stadt, the Department of Health (GD) implemented the proposal in 2013 for senior citizens' organizations to work with working groups to find solutions to problems affecting the elderly population. 

The key topics were care and nursing, securing livelihoods, health promotion and prevention, information, integration and migration as well as intergenerational relationships, potential and skills, safety and mobility, networking and new technologies, security of supply and housing. 

Considering the diversity of the older population group 

In September 2019, it was explained that modern ageing policy encompasses different generations, but also the diversity of the older population group with its different needs. The current guidelines cover individual topics such as autonomy, subsidiarity and cooperation. Each individual keyword first states what the canton promotes or advocates. For each keyword, the canton also explains the topic and provides relevant background information. 

Guideline no. 11, for example, is entitled "Potential and skills". It states that the canton supports "local self-help and neighborhood assistance". And: "It develops measures to recognize post-professional and post-family voluntary work." Among other things, the explanatory text addresses the post-retirement phase of life. The latter frees up new time resources. 

So far so good. 

Ambitious goals 

When examined somewhat critically, these guidelines are first and foremost commitments to the various issues - no more and no less. I believe that each individual point has certainly been analyzed in depth. However, the goals are ambitious and there are many ideas in the room. One way or another, it will become clear in a few years' time whether the canton of Basel-Stadt has achieved its newly defined goals or whether it has been overrun or overtaken by history. And let's hope that the ideas don't become paper tigers. 

Have I whetted your appetite to study the guidelines? To www.aelterbasel.ch you will find a lot of information as well as the new compilation of the above-mentioned keywords in the brochure "Basel55+".

The Federal Statistical Office writes:

Active ageing means that people have the opportunity to maintain their health as they get older, participate in the life of their social environment, ensure their personal safety and thus improve their quality of life (WHO, 2002).

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe has created an Active Ageing Index AAI. It shows the extent to which the potential of older people is being exploited in three different areas: Employment, social participation and independent living. The AAI also includes a fourth area that goes beyond the actual experience of active ageing. It captures the differences between countries in terms of the situation of their older populations and the creation of an enabling environment for active ageing.

What does active ageing mean to you, dear reader? How does it manifest itself for you?

My personal definition is something like this:

• Still very curious about everything around him.
• The need not to be slowed down by the adversities of getting older.
• Empathy and openness towards people.
• Lifelong learning.

With this in mind, let's look forward to active ageing!

Beatrice