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EASY  - Educating Adults Against Stereotypes   Partners: Poland, Portugal, Greece, Romania, Denmark   Reference number: 2021-1-PL01-KA220-ADU-000028240   Period: 01.01.2022 – 31.08.2024

 

On the basis of the 2019 Eurobarometer on discrimination in the EU, age discrimination remains one of the most prevalent forms of discrimination. (40% of individuals in the EU consider that age discrimination is widespread in their country). Age discrimination in the field of employment, but it is also widespread in access to goods and services.

Discrimination in access to health care is a particularly worrying area for people aged 55+, which was brought forward in the context of COVID-19. Employers often assume that an older candidate is less healthy than a younger candidate, believing older workers are less healthy in general (Steinberg et al., 1996; Oude Mulders et al., 2014). Research indeed shows that employers assume that older workers score worse on productivity-related characteristics such as health and motivation (Finkelstein, Higgins and Clancy, 2000; Gray and McGregor, 2003; Loretto and White, 2006; Ng and Feldman, 2012; Principi, Fabbietti and Lamura, 2015). Gender is one of the most form of discrimination at work and at home (housekeeping chores, and children and elders care). Based on the 2019 Eurobarometer on discrimination in the EU, the majority of answers report that that women have children and have less time for work so they are not as available as they should, and there´s also thinking that women have worse leadership tan men. 44% of the European population consider that the most important function of women is to take care of the house and family and 43% consider that the role of man is to make money. In the European Union, a difference between the employment rate for women and men is 11.8%. Study after study has proven that diverse organizations enjoy benefits that more homogenous companies do not, including being 35% more likely to have better financial returns and up to 32.2% higher IPO/acquisition success rates. Therefore, the discrimination based on gender and age stereotypes must be prevented, in order to have organisations more diverse, and that the society is more inclusive. All prejudices are based on the lack of information and education, and only when we provide education for adults is that it will be possible to understand gender and age discrimination and as a lack of education for human rights. This way, we need to provide adult educators with the knowledge about age and gender stereotypes and discrimination; and with the skills to pass on these knowledge and attitude to the adults to whom they provide education, in transversal way and not as a specific subject to learn. Adult educators will pass this knowledge and attitudes by example, by using embedded tools on their regular education, by presenting adapted resources on their learning sessions – we will provide adult educators with andragogical techniques. We can say that the concrete objectives of our project are: - Provide better knowledge to adult regarding stereotypes - Make it clear, to adults, that gender and age stereotypes lead to discrimination in our society, which prejudices the entire population - Decrease the age and gender discrimination in adult society - Enhance critical thinking in adults.