Social Divisions and Later Life Difference, Dive rsity and Inequality

As the population ages, this book reveals how divides that are apparent through childhood and working life change and are added to in later life.

Two internationally renowned experts in ageing look beyond longstanding factors like class, gender and ethnicity to explore new social divisions, including contrasting states of physical fitness and mental health. They show how differences in health and frailty are creating fresh inequalities in later life, with significant implications for the future of our ageing societies.

This accessible overview of social divisions is essential reading for those interested in the sociology of ageing and its differences, diversities and inequalities.

Chris Gilleard is Visiting Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Social & Policy Sciences at the University of Bath and the Division of Psychiatry at University College London. He has published in the areas of psychology, medicine, history and sociology as they relate to ageing and old age. He is also a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences.

Paul Higgs is Professor of the Sociology of Ageing at University College London. He has published widely on the changing nature of later life and is a co-editor of the journal 'Social Theory and Health'. Paul is also a fellow of both the Academy of Social Sciences and the Gerontological Society of America.