AWOC Board member Paul Goulden writes…
It is now more than 11 years since our founder Kirsty Woodard first raised the issue of ageing without children in her article in The Guardian. At the time it was seen as interesting but niche within the ageing sector, and not really something to be worried about.
How times have changed – through Kirsty’s hard work, the support of others and the work of AWOC UK, ageing without children is now acknowledged as a very real threat to ageing well. There is widespread interest in AWOC’s work, from individuals to charities, local authorities, statutory bodies, and businesses. This growth in understanding has been fuelled by an increasing awareness of longevity and ageing, particularly from the International Longevity Centre UK, highlighting not just the threats but also the opportunities of ageing societies. And of course it is not just a UK issue.
A few weeks ago I gave evidence at a webinar run by Population Europe, looking at ageing well in Italy and Europe, and the accompanying briefing note emphasises that the needs of people ageing without children need to be properly recognised in service design and delivery.
Since then I have also spoken to a visiting delegation from the Beijing Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau. Of course there are current sensitivities between the UK and China but it was fascinating to hear about what they are doing about an ageing society, and about ageing without children – apparently there is a specific programme in Beijing supporting those without children. We also discussed the cultural differences in how older people are supported by family, friends and the state , and around the concept of retirement communities and villages.
Combined with global news stories about replacement birth rates, and the rise of people choosing not to have children, the impact of ageing without children finally seems to be breaking into mainstream debate. And we now live in such an interconnected world that we can not ignore these trends. What impact will those ageing without children have on the Chinese workforce? Will they have to work for longer to support its manufacturing base, and if they can’t what does that mean for global consumerism ?
Will these demographic and social shifts favour countries where there are still high birth rates and who might use this reproductive capital to shift trade and bargaining power in their favour ?
And ultimately how will ageing populations be able to support their older people to live healthy, financially secure and fulfilling lives?
To support people ageing without children we need two things:
- A global acknowledgement of the issue AND
- Long term thinking at state level.
Whilst the action areas in the UN’s Decade of Healthy Ageing have relevance to people ageing without children, AWOC isn’t specifically recognised as a problem or opportunity. And long term thinking within national governments often seems to be put to one side in favour of the latest political headline or focus group.
It may now be a recognised challenge but what can we do to address it ? A solid start would be to collect robust data on people ageing without children according to AWOC’s definition – this would give us a true measure of the extent of the challenge and then use that data as evidence to inform service design and funding for support. This lack of hard data is holding us back in addressing both the challenges and opportunities but if we get the data right then individuals, communities and wider society will all benefit.
Paul Goulden
