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Posts Tagged Elizabeth Broderick

hitting the ground running

Posted by Alison in Media on August 2nd, 2011

On Monday, the Gillard Government announced the appointment of the Hon Susan Ryan AO as Australia’s inaugural Age Discrimination Commissioner.

In her new position of Age Discrimination Commissioner, Ms Ryan will be a dedicated advocate not only for older Australians, but also young people who might be affected by age discrimination

said Attorney-General Robert McClelland upon announcing the appointment.

Ryan is the independent chair of the IAG & NRMA Superannuation Plan, as well as honourary chair of the Australian Human Rights Group and ambassador to WomenAid Australia.

Ryan says her track record in the area of gender discrimination gives her confidence things will change, in legislation, culture and the workplace. On a personal note Ryan adds;

I’m 68 and want to hit the ground running!

Ryan takes the baton from Elizabeth Broderick, who has been at the forefront of keeping age discrimination issues firmly on the agenda.

Read more…

 

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age equality front and centre

Posted by Alison in Commentary, Media on June 24th, 2011

Elizabeth Broderick spoke this week at The Sydney Institute on the pervasive issue of age discrimination and confirmed that from July 2011 there will be an inaugural, dedicated Age Discrimination Commissioner in Australia.

Elizabeth shared stories gathered throughout her term with AHRC from mature workers not given a ‘fair go’; reviewed the positive changes and reforms that have taken place in recent years; and talked about the development of a Convention on the Rights of Older People.

A binding convention will recognise the fundamental human rights and freedoms of older people globally. A convention will open up a space for the voices of older people to be heard – for older people themselves to be the architects of their own destinies.

Elizabeth reflected on a personal story of her father, when hearing ‘exclusive language’ being used, asks “Where’s the evidence?”.

A question that organisations and recruitment agencies across Australia should be asking when it comes to the recruitment and career opportunities of mature workers.

One thing is for sure, Elizabeth Broderick has paved the way for a ‘community where when we speak about human rights, age equality is front and centre’.

Full speech

 

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age on an equal footing

Posted by Alison in Media on May 27th, 2011

This week saw the passing of amendments to the Sex and Age Discrimination legislation, paving the way for a dedicated Age Discrimination Commissioner in Australia. Thereby placing age discrimination on an equal footing with other areas of discrimination.

“This is a great day,” said Commissioner (Elizabeth) Broderick. “The Age Discrimination Commissioner will be responsible for raising awareness of age discrimination, educating the community about the impact of age discrimination, and monitoring and advocating for the elimination of age discrimination across all areas of public life.”

This, in the same week as research commissioned by Leadership Management Australasia found ‘Baby boomers are the most unpopular demographic in the workplace‘. Age-old stereotypes seem to be rife in this research (of a relatively small sample of 774 workers) which speaks of mature workers being ‘inflexible’ and ‘technologically inept’.

At SageCo we beg to differ.

Our most recent 60-something ‘flexi worker’ has joined the SageCo team to contribute his wealth of knowledge, skills and experience after expressing a desire to continue working ‘longer but differently‘.  Not only does Michael fit hand in glove with the SageCo team (a diverse bunch!) but he has just introduced us to new facilitation technology which will maintain our position at the cutting edge of the ageing workforce challenge.

Read the full article here

 

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double trouble

Posted by Alison in Commentary on May 12th, 2010

The number of age discrimination complaints in the first quarter of this year has doubled, according to Elizabeth Broderick, Commissioner responsible for Age Discrimination. “I think that’s because the issue has had more airing in the last six months through the Intergenerational Report that Treasury launched, which talked about the eligibility for the pension going up to the age of 67” she says.

This continues a rising trend with a 20% increase in age discrimination complaints seen between 2008 and 2009.

“The Government is sending strong signals that we need to work longer but the question is can we when there’s a culture that says you’re not valuable when you’re over a certain age.”   More…

Let’s hope Risk Managers have this topic firmly on their agenda. Organisations who are the subject of a complaint suffer not only significant costs but damage to their coveted employment brand.

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