Age Equality
The Equality Act 2010 includes age as a protected characteristic, which could apply to people of any age group, no matter how specifically the age group is defined (e.g. 'over 80s' or 'young people').
The Equality and Human Rights Commission further outlines four main categories of age discrimination:
- direct discrimination (treating someone worse because of their age)
- indirect discrimination (an organisation's policies put people of a certain age group at a disadvantage)
- harassment (when somebody makes you feel humiliated, offended or degraded because of your age)
- victimisation (if you are treated badly because you have made a complaint of age discrimination under the Equality Act)
It also explains the circumstances when it is lawful to treat someone differently because of their age.
In this section, you'll find information resources relating to age inequality. The resources include books, films, archives, and social media, and they examine these issues from many perspectives, including history, society, politics, culture, literature, and more.
We hope you find the resources here and on our reading list informative and interesting, and as always, we welcome your suggestions for books and other resources to include.
FOCUS on Menopause
Reading List
Take a look at our EDI Reading List for Age Equality.
Please get in touch if you have any recommendations to add to this list - whether already available in the Library or not!
Archives and Special Collections
The Library has access to several archives, both in its own Special Collections and Archives, as well as digitised collections, which cover subjects relating to people of particular age groups.
We've curated a list below, together with information about major collections held elsewhere (some of which are available online).
- Chaplin (Michael) ArchiveContains a short story entitled ‘The Old Man’, written by Michael Chaplin, which was published in The Journal after winning The Journal's Young Writers' Competition for the 17 - 20 age group.
- Children's Literature collections at Newcastle UniversityAn overview of the different collections relating to Children's Literature which are held in our Special Collections and Archives.
- Clarke (Edwin) CollectionRelevant to researching children: contains ‘An Account of the Foundling Hospital, in London, for the Maintenance and Education of Exposed and Deserted Young Children’ (1799). Ref: Clarke Med. 622.
- Pybus (Professor Frederick) ArchiveContains early twentieth century research correspondence regarding medical matters and advice, including discussion of ‘artificial menopause’. Ref: FP/1/1/1/1/1
- Trevelyan (Charles Philips) ArchiveContains early twentieth-century papers relating to the Trevelyan family, including a letter accompanying the first instalment of Charles’ Old Age Pension. Ref: GB 186 CPT/1/7/83
- Boy scouts and other youth organisationAn overview of archival collections around the UK relating to boy scouts and other youth organisations.
- British Youth Council programmesProgrammes and networks of the British Youth Council
- Centre for Ageing BetterResearch and publications from this UK charity.
- Childhood PublicsChildren's photography archive, and archive of 'earliest political memories' from this international research project
- Mass Observation Online 1937-1967 This link opens in a new window
A major resource for British social history from 1937-1967, it contains material generated by the Mass Observation social research organisation, including day surveys, diaries and subject directives from 1937-1967, a wide range of themed topic collections, together with other material such as images and essays.
- Mass Observation Project 1981-2009 This link opens in a new window
A major resource for British social history from 1981 - 2009, it contains responses to the Mass Observation project's directives (questionnaires) sent out to volunteers who were asked to report on their lives and opinions. Topics covered are wide-ranging and include political and social themes of the period, plus insights into everyday life.
- Museum of Childhood Library and ArchiveLibrary and archives relating to the history of chldhood, based at the Victoria and Albert museum. NB Access is currently very limited due to development works.
- Museum of Youth CulturePhotographs, objects and collections celebrating 100 years of being young.
- People's ArchiveCrowdsourced photographic archive documenting everyday life in 20th Century Britain.
- Rock's Backpages This link opens in a new windowThe largest database of online music journalism, providing access to thousands of interviews, reviews and articles about artists of all genres, from Aaliyah to ZZ Top. Coverage dates back 50 years, and also includes 500 audio interviews.
- Sporting Memories FoundationCharity which tackles depression, dementia and loneliness via sporting memories and physical activity.
- StatistaStatista is a collection of over 1.5 million datasets on a huge range of contemporary topics. If you're looking for data to help you research inequality, it's a great place to start.
Age Equality - ACTION
Take a look at Newcastle University's AGE Research Group.
National Institute for Health Research is a collaboration between Newcastle University and Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It focuses on the conversion of lab-based research in ageing and long-term conditions, into practical and meaningful benefits for patients, the public and the health and care system.
The Campus for Ageing and Vitality is home to the NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre as well as ageing research labs, businesses, and one of the country’s first Clinics for Research and Service in Themed Assessments (CRESTA); a working NHS facility for patients.