Precarity and Aging: Unequal Experiences in Contemporary Late Life

What is
Precarity?

Welcome to the
Precarity & Aging
project

a) a right, tenancy, held or enjoyed by the favour of and at the pleasure of another person;

b) vulnerable to the will or decision of others. Including being dependent on chance or circumstance; uncertain; liable to fail; exposed to risk, hazardous; insecure or unstable.

Learn About Our Research

*Oxford English Dictionary, 2017

Physical Connotations
Related to Precarity

Read our recent
publications & findings

a) subject to or fraught with physical danger or insecurity;

b) at risk of falling, collapse, or similar accident; unsound and unsafe.

View our Outcomes / Findings

*Oxford English Dictionary, 2017

Concept of Precarity

Have a question?
Contact Us!

“Turning to an analysis of precarity throughout the life course and in late life outlines the differences that exist, including how late life contains the vulnerabilities of the human condition, the accumulation of structured inequalities, and the socio-cultural assumptions and notions of failure that are associated with impairment. Precarity makes two contributions to the discussion: first, it moves thinking away from the dominance of individualized age or stage-based frameworks that are rooted in success….Second, it renders visible a shared vulnerability, as well as the desire for control, and the inability, or the lack of political will, to address dependency, interdependence and human suffering.”

*Grenier, et al., Sociology of Health and Illness, 2017, 39 (20), p. 327-328

About The Precarity and Aging Project

The aim of this SSHRC funded research project is to consider the nature of precarity in relation to age; to extend thinking on precarity into later life, and explore how trajectories and vulnerabilities (low income, disability, and immigration) that are produced in contemporary society can affect late life.

Research

Our research draws on different methods to understand and account for precarious trajectories in relation to contemporary aging, expected life course transitions and dominant success-based models of aging.

Finding / Outcomes

Data from this project will provide insight into the life trajectories of older people, outline the service barriers that exist for people ‘aging precariously’ with regards to low-income, ability and status.

News & Events

Learn more about the overall progress of our project. We will post links to relevant events, meetings and conferences that relate to the Precarity and Aging project.