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The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on older people's lives on a global scale but for some marginalised communities have seen a marked exacerbation of health and other inequalities. Research has highlighted the impact of the pandemic on lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT+) people's lives, but less has been documented about the experiences of LGBT+ older communities and how their specific needs have been mediated. Community-based advocacy organisations are central to promoting LGBT+ human rights in the UK through its social movements, and this paper explores their role and significance during a distinct period of the UK mandatory isolation. Drawing on a case study approach based on qualitative interviews with six key LGBT+ community organisations in the UK, we captured their insights into how they navigated support for older people when faced with limited resources and the challenges posed by mandatory physical and social distancing. We position these events in current discourse about structural and health inequalities for LGBT+ ageing in the UK.

Current understandings of ageing and diversity are impoverished in three main ways. Firstly, with regards to thinking about what inequalities operate in later life there has been an excessive preoccupation with economic resources. On the other hand, less attention has been paid to cultural norms and values, other resources, wider social processes, political participation and community engagement. Secondly, in terms of thinking about the 'who' of inequality, this has so far been limited to a very narrow range of minority populations. Finally, when considering the 'how' of inequality, social gerontology's theoretical analyses remain under-developed. The overall effect of these issues is that social gerontology remains deeply embedded in normative assumptions which serve to exclude a wide range of older people.

This book aims to challenge and provoke the above described normativity and offer an alternative approach which highlights the heterogeneity and diversity of ageing.

This thesis explores the role of demographic change in the evolution of inequalities in population age structures across regions of Europe. It strives to increase our understanding of the demographic processes that shape regional population age structures, and how these processes are interrelated with regional economic development. The analysis is focused on changing relative differences over time, i.e. convergence or divergence. The focus on convergence or divergence in population age structures is a relevant subject interesting not just to the demographers, who are anyways obsessed with population dynamics. The study period, which spans from the beginning of 2003 to end of 2012, happens to be uniquely interesting because it includes major shifts both in economies and population age structures. First, in 2004 happened the biggest enlargement of European Union that largely affected economic prospects of the newly admitted countries of Central and Eastern Europe and radically reshaped the intra-European migration landscape. Second, Europe was heavily and unevenly stricken by the economic crisis of 2008-2009, which affected all domains of people's lives including behaviours directly related to demographic events. Finally, the second part of the study period was marked with the accelerated graying of relatively large baby-boom generation cohorts that started to leave the working age in 2010s changing the population age compositions faster than ever before.

Active ageing has been discussed in international political organisations and among re-searchers as a major means for combatting the challenges of demographic ageing. This study aims to make a critical-theoretical and empirical assessment of the active ageing concept, challenging the active ageing discourse from two different angles. First, an assessment of the theoretical framework of active ageing shows that the conceptual framework is undertheorised, lacks conceptual and analytical clarity, and fails to propose clear contributing factors and barriers. The second part presents an empirical analysis of the concept of active ageing guided by the following research question: is active ageing realistic—and for whom? Using Danish data subjected to multiple correspondence analysis, it is found that active ageing at the individual level is preconditioned by health, education, having good finances, etc. Furthermore, a Matthew effect of accumulated advantage is found; that is, older adults who are blessed in one sphere of life are also blessed in others, and such inequalities in old age are the outcomes of social life biographies (i.e., cumulative advantages/disadvantages over the life course). Thus, empirical findings indicate that active ageing may be an elusive goal for a large segment of older adults.

Active ageing has been discussed in international political organisations and among researchers as a major means for combatting the challenges of demographic ageing. This study aims to make a critical-theoretical and empirical assessment of the active ageing concept, challenging the active ageing discourse from two different angles. First, an assessment of the theoretical framework of active ageing shows that the conceptual framework is undertheorised, lacks conceptual and analytical clarity, and fails to propose clear contributing factors and barriers. The second part presents an empirical analysis of the concept of active ageing guided by the following research question: is active ageing realistic—and for whom? Using Danish data subjected to multiple correspondence analysis, it is found that active ageing at the individual level is preconditioned by health, education, having good finances, etc. Furthermore, a Matthew effect of accumulated advantage is found ; that is, older adults who are blessed in one sphere of life are also blessed in others, and such inequalities in old age are the outcomes of social life biographies (i.e., cumulative advantages/disadvantages over the life course). Thus, empirical findings indicate that active ageing may be an elusive goal for a large segment of older adults.

This thesis explores the role of demographic change in the evolution of inequalities in population age structures across regions of Europe. It strives to increase our understanding of the demographic processes that shape regional population age structures, and how these processes are interrelated with regional economic development. The analysis is focused on changing relative differences over time, i.e. convergence or divergence. The focus on convergence or divergence in population age structures is a relevant subject interesting not just to the demographers, who are anyways obsessed with population dynamics. The study period, which spans from the beginning of 2003 to end of 2012, happens to be uniquely interesting because it includes major shifts both in economies and population age structures. First, in 2004 happened the biggest enlargement of European Union that largely affected economic prospects of the newly admitted countries of Central and Eastern Europe and radically reshaped the intra-European migration landscape. Second, Europe was heavily and unevenly stricken by the economic crisis of 2008-2009, which affected all domains of people's lives including behaviours directly related to demographic events. Finally, the second part of the study period was marked with the accelerated graying of relatively large baby-boom generation cohorts that started to leave the working age in 2010s changing the population age compositions faster than ever before.

Comparative studies of health inequalities have largely neglected age and ageing aspects, while ageing research has often paid little attention to questions of social inequalities. This article investigates cross-country differences in gradients in self-rated health and limiting long-standing illness (LLSI) in middle-aged and in older people (aged 50–64 and 65–80 years) linked to social class, and degrees to which the social health gradients are associated with minimum pension levels and expenditure on elderly care. For these purposes, data from the European Social Survey (2002–2010) are analysed using multilevel regression techniques. We find significant cross-level interaction effects between class and welfare policies: higher expenditure on elderly care and particularly more generous minimum pensions are associated with smaller health inequalities in the older age group (65–80 years). It is concluded that welfare policies moderate the association between social class and health, highlighting the importance of welfare state efforts for older persons, who are strongly reliant on the welfare state and welfare state arrangements such as pensions and care policies.

This paper discusses the ageing process in Brazil and Colombia according to gender and socioeconomic inequalities. The ageing process is related to reforms in social policies in each country. Reforms in the pension systems show contrasting results for the family structure and income. In Brazil, the extension of pensions to rural and informal workers leads to empowering poorer elderly women and men in economic and domestic relationships. Universalizing pensions allows the elderly to chose to live alone or to support adult children. On the other hand, in Colombia the reform created the individual saving system, reinforcing social exclusion and inequalities at the end of the life course. At the same time, the structural adjustments of the economy have generated new social contracts and economic order, but in different ways. The universal or individual character of the new pension system redefines in each country the profile of gender, generations, and socioeconomic inequalities. The universal reform can mitigate the economic and domestic exclusion of poorer and rural elderly, as in Brazil; and the individual reform can reinforce inequalities and, as a result, reproduce gender roles of domestic submission and dependence for poorer women in advanced ages.

The present study investigates the socioeconomic inequality and determinants of healthy ageing in different regions of India using the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI), Wave 1 (2017–2018). This study developed an individual-level healthy ageing score (HAS) by incorporating 53 variables suggested by the expert committee of the WHO on healthy ageing. Income, wealth and education inequality are measured using the indirectly adjusted concentration index (CI). The multiple linear regression estimates the socioeconomic, demographic and behavioural determinants. It has been found that the mean HAS in India is 72.57; it is highest in the North-east and lowest in South India. The CI indicated socioeconomic inequality in healthy ageing in India, favouring high-income, wealthy and educated elders across the region. The regression shows that older adults who are relatively young, male, rich and living in urban areas are more likely to be healthy than their counterparts. It is also found that the habit of smoking, physical inactivity and prevalence of chronic diseases are significantly associated with a low HAS in India.

Norway, together with the rest of Scandinavia, is often seen as a vanguard with regard to changing gender roles. In the last decades, an important goal has been the dual earner/dual carer model. However, politics have been targeted couples with young children Adult children's care for older parents has received limited attention, and recent Norwegian research has documented substantial gender differences in allocation of public help depending on both parents' and their children's gender. Here, we address provision of care to parents among adult children in Norway, by taking account of both parents' and children's gender. We ask to what extent the degree of parental needs impact on sons' and daughters' care provision, and whether there are signs of more care involvement among more modern (gender equality oriented) men compared to more traditional men. The analyses are based on data from the Norwegian Life course, Ageing and Generation Study (N=14,884). The results show that sons are more inclined to help, but only as long as their parents are not in need of care. When parents, and mothers in particular, need help, daughters are more involved, and with increasing needs, gender differences become more and more marked. So far, there are no signs of a more caring son among modern men. The findings indicate that the gender equality debate needs to move beyond the early family years and care for children, and address division of care provision among adult children when ageing parents' become in need of help.

This report examines how the two global mega-trends of population ageing and rising inequalities have been developing and interacting, both within and across generations. Taking a life-course perspective the report shows how inequalities in education, health, employment and earnings compound, resulting in large differences in lifetime earnings across different groups. It suggests a policy agenda to prevent, mitigate and cope with inequalities along the life course drawing on good practices in OECD countries and emerging economies.