Baby Boomers’ Lifechange -

a whole new adventure

Many career women fear retirement –

Here’s how to make it fun

For the first time in history, hundreds of thousands of Australian career women, who strongly identify with their work, are facing retirement. Because this has never happened before, there are very few role-+ models and many women are fearful of what awaits them.

Today’s career women are concerned about issues like -

• Feeling less productive when you no longer having a primary career.
• Creating a new identity.
• Finding substitutes for the power & influence that their position provided
• Having an impact in retirement
• Navigating an anti-aging society.
• Finding passion outside of work.
• Financial stability in the new economy

Part of the American solution has been the creation of a movement called “Project Renewment” and this is now coming to Australia. The mission of Project Renewal (retirement + renewal) is to provide a forum for career women, 55 or over to use their strategic thinking, creativity and vision to create a future that is equally, if not more satisfying, than their previous working years.

Project Renewment is  -

A process and a forum  to assist women to discuss and plan for the next chapter of their lives. A movement involving a community of women’s groups.

A book of 38 stories on topics that are important to consider.

To encourage Australian career women to start some Project Renewment  groups here, the American authors, Helen Dennis & Bernice Bratter will be conducting a free, live web broadcast. It will be held on Tuesday July 21 at lunchtime, between 12.30-1.30pm

Interested women need to register & then they will be provided with information on how to view the free web broadcast. This event is been organized in conjunction with the web site www.mylifechange.com.au and anyone wanting more information, or to register, should go to www.mylifechange.com.au and look under RETIREMENT / PROJECT RENEWMENT

Mary Gehrmann, who is interested in helping career women form groups in Australia is available for interviews. The American authors are available for interviews, but an 18 hour time difference doesn’t normally make this convenient.

For further information, or to arrange an interview, please contact Paul McKeon from My Lifechange, on 07 3279 2454,   m.0418 418 802 or info@mylifechange.com.au

I attended yet another seminar on aging issues this week. I know that such seminars do have an important role in the development and exchange of ideas. However, as I listened, I became acutely aware of the time/energy/cost demanded by the vast weight of meetings, learned papers, Government and Council departments, seminars, workshops, organisations, research, policies, strategies, staff training, working papers, committees, and more, and how little

focus was placed on the actual on ground social justice outcomes, that all of the above were established to achieve.

I became aware that, while I was enjoying  a free lunch, someone somewhere was likely to be lying beside their bed with a broken hip for a few days, before, and by default, a meals on wheels volunteer found them.

It's 2008, not 1908, and we've had enough of the over emphasis on analysis and theorising. I think that it is time for Governments to do a hard audit of just how much is spent in administration in all of it's guises, and how much actually gets through to the needy.

I'd say a target of 75% for on ground outcomes, and 25% for the  'overheads' should be about right.