Seniors

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New Blog: Aging Gayfully

This is the first of what I hope will be a forum for older LGBT adults. I hope you will share your thoughts and experiences about aging with me.

As some of you may know, I am passionate about the “conscious aging” movement and eager to share it with my LGBT community. This movement is all about changing “the aging paradigm” in a youth-obsessed culture and exploring how we can better prepare for the challenges and as well as utilize the opportunities afforded by our extended life span.

As part of a project sponsored by Adult and Aging Services and funded by the LGBTQI Giving Circle of Sonoma County, I am currently offering an 8-week series called “Aging Together With Pride!” that is being offered in four Sonoma County locations. In one of the early sessions, I was asked why I felt there was a need to focus on the LGBT community.

“Hidden, isolated, and underserved” is a phrase we often use to describe today’s LGBT seniors. Even though as LGBT seniors we are more at risk for loneliness, depression, disability, HIV/AIDS and alcohol or drug abuse, research shows that LGBT seniors are only 20% as likely as heterosexual elders to access services!

There are a couple of possible explanations. The first is that many of us quickly learned that our survival depended on staying closeted. For much of our lives being homosexual or transgender was a crime, a sin, and a mental illness. Many of us were alienated from our families, lost jobs, were victims of violence, and were incarcerated or institutionalized. We learned to be vigilant and our instinct to hide persists in spite of increasing social acceptance, often preventing us from seeking help when we need it.

The other reason is that individuals and agencies that provide the services we may need are not always sensitive to our history of being marginalized and the effects of our societal scarring. Their assumption is often that we are heterosexual, leaving us to wonder how we might be treated if we “came out” about our sexual orientation or gender identity. Fortunately the grant project also includes cultural competency trainings about these issues that are being provided to Sonoma County aging service providers by my former Spectrum colleague Nancy Flaxman.

Future blogs will explore optimal aging strategies that capitalize on our qualities and strengths as LGBT elders.

Buz Hermes is co-facilitator of the Sonoma Valley LGBT Seniors Group and a former staff member of Spectrum’s Senior Outreach Program. He has also provided supportive programs for caregivers of persons affected by HIV and AIDS and has been a coordinator of services for low-income seniors. He can be reached at GaryDHermes@comcast.net.

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Out Leadership Announces OutWOMEN Initiative for Senior LGBT Women in Business

Out Leadership, a global business advisory organization, today announced the launch of OutWOMEN, an initiative that champions the success of senior LGBT women in business. Beth Brooke-Marciniak, global vice chair of public policy, EY and a member of Out Leadership’s Global Advisory Board, and Martine Rothblatt, CEO of United Therapeutics, will co-chair the inaugural OutWOMEN event in March.

OutWOMEN is an important new platform Out Leadership will build to bring together senior LGBT executives to create business opportunities and cultivate talent – and thereby drive equality forward.

“Leaders in the LGBT business space and people in the trenches, who are working to deliver on the business promise of LGBT inclusion, have long asked: ‘Where are the women?’” said Stephanie Sandberg, managing director of Advisory & Client Services, Out Leadership. “We’ve observed that LGBT women are often under-recognized and underserved in the conversation. OutWOMEN is our platform to serve this impactful network, and we couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity.”

“Being out, being senior and being seen to have succeeded nonetheless, makes a difference,” said Ms. Brooke-Marciniak. “There are precious few women role models in the upper echelons of leadership. Just five percent of Fortune 500 CEOs are women, and less than one percent of FTSE 250 CEO slots are held by women. Even fewer of these women openly identify as LGBT. Building this network helps each of us to visualize the path ahead to pursue executive leadership, leverage the full strength of our authenticity, and be the role models for tomorrow’s LGBT women leaders.”

OutWOMEN organizes global engagement opportunities for LGBT women in significant leadership positions at major companies. In its first year, it will convene a series of private, invitation-only salon dinners in New York, Washington D.C., Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles, London, and Hong Kong. These dinners will center on engaging conversation and facilitating cross-business opportunity among a curated cohort of senior LGBT women executives. OutWOMEN will also host breakfasts at Out Leadership’s 2016 summits in New York, Hong Kong and London, which will be open to younger women and allies of the group.

“There’s a real dearth of institutional and organizational support for successful LGBT women in business. OutWOMEN addresses a clear and present need,” said Ms. Rothblatt, “The women it will serve face unique opportunities and challenges as a result of their shared identities and experiences, and I’m delighted and honored to help guide the initiative forward. It is an awesome mission.”

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New Study of Midlife and Older Gay Men Links “Internalized Gay Ageism” with Depressive Symptoms

“Internalized gay ageism,” or the sense that one may feel denigrated or depreciated because of aging in the context of a gay male identity, is associated with negative mental outcomes, according to a new study published in Social Science & Medicine.

Prior research has shown that youth, vigor and physical attractiveness are disproportionately valued in the gay male community, leaving many to experience a sense of “accelerated aging.” This study explores how ageism and homophobia are jointly internalized by gay men, whether these feelings affect their mental health, and whether a sense of “mattering” (the degree to which they feel they are important to others and a significant part of the world around them) offsets any mental health deficits associated with internalized gay ageism.

The study is based on data recently collected from 312 gay-identified men who have been participating in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study since 1984. The men ranged in age from 48 to 78 years (the average age was 61 years) and 61 percent were HIV-negative. Three decades of depressive symptoms data were included in the analysis to help strengthen the direction of the observed findings.

Key findings from the study include:

• Internalized gay ageism can reliably be measured among these men with a new scale that includes agreement/disagreement with statements such as, “Aging is especially hard for me because I am a gay man,” “As I get older, I feel more invisible when I am with other gay men,” and “As I get older I feel pressured to look younger than my age.”

• Internalized gay ageism is differentiated from both perceived ageism and internalized homophobia, meaning it is a stand-alone minority stress construct uniquely informative of the lived experiences of these men.

• Internalized gay ageism is positively associated with current depressive symptoms independent of an array of other factors that also may influence depressive symptoms, including depressive symptom history.

• One’s sense of “mattering” partially explains the association between internalized gay ageism and depressive symptoms.

Aging within the context of a gay male identity merits greater consideration in the development of clinical- and community-based efforts designed to support midlife and older gay men, whose numbers are increasing substantially as part of the aging baby boomer generation. Public health interventions that boost these men’s sense of mattering may offset the damaging effects of internalized gay ageism. Future research with large population-based samples is needed that expands how internalized gay ageism is measured and how it may be associated with other stress processes and health outcomes.

The lead author of the report is Richard G. Wight, a former Williams Institute Visiting Scholar and Researcher in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.  In addition to Wight, co-authors of the report are Allen J. LeBlanc, Professor at the Health Equity Institute at San Francisco State University; Ilan H. Meyer, Williams Distinguished Senior Scholar of Public Policy at the Williams Institute; and Frederick A. Harig, doctoral student in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.

Click here for the full report.

– See more at: http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/press/press-releases/new-study-of-midlife-and-older-gay-men-links-internalized-gay-ageism-with-depressive-symptoms/#sthash.uzO1uyHD.dpuf

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The Gender Wage Gap Screws Women All The Way To Retirement

 

When men and women’s incomes and retirement savings are stacked up against their projected health care costs and life expectancies, women are much farther behind men. At the same time, women will end up needing to make their money stretch further.

A new report from Financial Finesse found that both genders won’t have enough to replace at least 70 percent of their income in retirement. But 45-year-old men today who will retire at age 65 will fall $212,256 short, while women will be behind by $268,404.

The analysis looked at median incomes, deferral rates, retirement savings, life expectancy, and projected healthcare costs to determine how much the median 45-year-old man and woman would need to save in order to replace 70 percent of their income in retirement. “While both the median man and woman face a significant shortfall, the median woman has a lower lifetime income, has saved less, and yet faces higher overall retirement and healthcare costs due to a longer life expectancy,” it notes.

Thanks to the gender wage gap, men make a median income of $45,292 compared to women’s $37,388. That makes it easier to save for retirement, both because a given percentage of a man’s paycheck that gets put away in an account will be higher than a woman’s, and also because men have more financial cushion to use for savings. Men’s median retirement savings, then, is $63,875, while women’s is $43,446.

But women end up living longer and spending more on their health care. If they both retire at age 65, the average man can expect to live another 19.3 years, but a woman will live for another 21.6. And in that time, a man will spend a projected $275,035 on health care while a woman will spend $294,975.

Add it all up, and women will face a shortfall that is 26 percent bigger than men’s.

A big factor is a longstanding problem for women of all ages: the gender wage gap. Women who work full-time, year-round make 78 percent of what men make, and the gap is far larger for women of color. That means women will make an estimated $530,000 less over their lifetimes. Then they end up getting smaller Social Security checks based off of their smaller payroll contributions. And while men and women participate in retirement plans at the same rate and women even save more of their salaries, since those salaries are lower they end up with less money in their accounts.

Their lower earnings also lead to financial stress that can demote retirement savings on women’s list of financial priorities. While both genders rate it as the number one concern, women are much more likely to follow that up with prioritizing managing their cash flow and getting out of debt.

The gap in retirement savings, coupled with women’s longer lifetimes, puts them in a very tough financial situation in their golden years. Women over the age of 65 have a poverty rate of 11.6 percent, compared to men’s rate of 6.8 percent, and they make up more than two-thirds of all the elderly poor. And the number of elderly women living in extreme poverty has been climbing recently. That leaves them exposed to scams, foreclosure, and other serious financial trouble.

Beyond potential solutions for closing the gender wage gap over women’s lifetimes, there have also been proposals to expand Social Security so that it offers more of a cushion in old age. And some have discussed including Social Security credits for caregivers who have to take time out of the workforce to care for a family member, such as children or elderly parents, and miss out on payroll contributions. Those who take that kind of time off are overwhelmingly women.

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Coffee, Conversation, and Community: Drop-In Discussion Groups for LGBT Seniors

There are several social drop-in discussion groups available in the counties of Marin, Sonoma, and Napa that are special places for LGBT older adults. What constitutes an ‘older adult’ you ask? We leave that up to you, but attendance is typically people whose age is anywhere between 50 and 100.

Following is a general description of each group. All are free of charge to attend, and all occur on a monthly basis. You are welcome to visit any group that appeals to you, regardless of where you live. Since these are drop-in groups, you may come once or each time. You do not need to be a member or join anything. These are NOT therapy groups.

Descriptions have been provided by the facilitators of each group. Unless specified otherwise, Spectrum is not responsible for the content or management of any group.

MARIN COUNTY: Novato

When: Second Wednesday of each month, 12:00 – 2:00 PM
Where: Novato Human Needs Center, 1907 Novato Blvd., Novato   •  (415) 897-4147
Brown Bag Lunch (optional) 12:00 PM to 12:30 PM – Coffee and Cookies Provided
Facilitated Discussion 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM

Facilitated by Nancy Flaxman, MSW

View/Download August 2014 Flyer

Description: We gather informally for a brown bag lunch (optional) and then follow with a different topic for discussion each month. Whether you are in the closet or out, partnered or single, shy or outgoing, we hope you will join us for this opportunity to get to know each other and build community.

This group is made possible by the Novato Human Needs Center commitment to LGBT inclusion, by a grant from Marin Community Foundation, and by outreach assistance from Spectrum LGBT Center.
The Novato Human Needs Center values diversity. Whatever your ethnicity, religion, country of origin, language, abilities, sexual orientation, or gender, you are welcome here.

NAPA COUNTY: Napa

When: First Tuesday of each month, 10:15 am – 12:00 PM
Where: Queen of the Valley Community Center, 3448 Villa Lane, Napa
10:15 AM to 10:30 AM: Arrival, coffee and pastries provided

Facilitated Discussion 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM

Facilitated by Paula Pilecki, Executive Director, Spectrum LGBT Center

Description: Napa’s first discussion group for LGBT older adults is now in its third year! Join us for a very casual, fun, and relaxed group discussion with different topics each month. There is often a film featured, followed by relevant discussion. Plenty of street & lot parking, wheelchair access, and located on major transportation routes. Whether in the closet or not, we’re discreet and confidential. For more information, call 707-583-2330 (24 hour confidential voice message line, checked regularly).

This group is made possible with funding from Napa County Health and Human Services, and hosted in partnership with LGBTQ Connection Napa and Spectrum LGBT Center.

SONOMA COUNTY: Santa Rosa

When: Fourth Tuesday of the month, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
>Where: Glaser Center at UUCM, 547 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa
Social time 1:00 – 1:30 PM; facilitated discussion 1:30 – 3:00 PM
Facilitator: Rotates on a volunteer basis
The group is not affiliated with any religious denomination.

Description: Join us for lively discussions, mutual support, sharing information, and all the while celebrating who we are. Everyone is welcome; there is no charge. Whether you’re in the closet or out, you are welcome!

SONOMA COUNTY: City of Sonoma

When: Third Friday of the month, 10:00 AM – 12:00 Noon
Where: Vintage House Senior Center, 264 1st Street East, Sonoma

Social time 10:00 – 10:30 AM; facilitated discussion 10:30 – 12:00 Noon

Coordinators: Gary “Buz” Hermes (707) 227-6935 and Janice Farrell (415) 608-5792

Description: All ages and abilities welcome! Come join us and feel free to bring a friend or neighbor. After the group, some of us go to lunch at a local restaurant.

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