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Czech society thinks within a three-box model. “According to this approach, we are educated when we are young, then we work, and afterwards we should rest,” says Vidovićová. “This approach is not ideal because it lacks an appreciation of graduality in the process of leaving a job for retirement. For instance, we can leave the labour market for a while, devote ourselves to caregiving duties and further education at the age of sixty, then return to work in a different position. This should be nothing unusual.”
In relation to pension reforms, the topic of ageing is currently hotly discussed. We are caught in a paradox: although we know that the pension age will rise, people in their fifties are struggling to find jobs. “Losing your job when you are over fifty is very stressful. I believe this is something we can change,” says Vidovićová.
Experts describe this situation as ageism. In simple terms, ageism means stereotyping of and discrimination against others based on their age. Vidovićová says that the problem with ageism is broader still. “We are limited by our fascination with age,” Vidovićová says. “We are in thrall to pigeonholing. Every form must have its age column. The number is important for the system. This whole phenomenon is something we’re still getting to grips with.”
To understand the problem, we should realize that ageing is an everyday process that starts at birth. There is no point in hiding it, although this is precisely what society tries to do. “It makes no sense to stigmatize older age. It is better to look forward to it and make plans for different stages of our lives,” Vidovićová adds. “Society should be more open-minded. This stage of life can be more fulfilling and more joyful than many of us make it.”
The expert believes that the current discussion about pension reform provides an opportunity for reflection on how to deal with the issue. “It is a great opportunity for generations to come together, to learn what life means at its different stages,” she says.
Discrimination based on age is even more deeply rooted in Czech society than much-discussed gender inequality. We are afraid of ageing and often unwilling to accept it, says Lucie Vidovićová, a SYRI sociologist from Masaryk University. The Czech approach to ageing may well be about to change in connection with expected pension reforms.
M.Sc. Lucie Vidovićová, PhD. is a sociologist and social gerontologist. She works as an assistant professor at the Department of Sociology of the Faculty of Social Studies of Masaryk University, and is a co-founder of the CERA Center for Aging Research there. In 2018, she was elected Vice-President of the International Sociological Association, Research Section on Aging (ISA RC11). She also serves as a member of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Body within the ISA. Her long-term research interests include the sociology of aging, topics of age discrimination, active aging and social exclusion. She conducts research for national and European bodies and works as a consultant for a number of implementation projects. Lucie also works with various governmental and non-governmental organizations in the field of senior advocacy and science popularization. Until 2020, she worked as the head of the working group for spatial exclusion within the European network COST Action ROSEnet. In 2020, she was appointed a member of the Committee for the Rights of Elderly People at the Government Council for Human Rights. At SYRI, he is working on the preparation of a methodology for emergency services in the context of modern challenges, especially with the aim of better supporting the health protection of an aging population.