All over the world, people are living longer, the population of older adults is growing, and in most places entire societies are aging. Inequalities, including those based on gender, sexuality, disability, socioeconomic status, and geographic diversity, impact us all throughout the life course. As we age, inequalities may be amplified, leading to significant variations in health, security, and overall well-being.

While there are myriad efforts to reveal and address intersecting inequalities in aging, including longitudinal data collection and analysis, qualitative interviews and surveys, storytelling, and intervention research, the intersections of global aging and inequalities remain underexplored. Shared priorities for research, policy, and programs, rooted in human rights and community ownership, are essential to ensure equal opportunity for health and wellbeing.

This session will shed light on current realities and efforts, focusing on how addressing inequalities in aging can and should shape research, policy, and programs from the local to the global. It will bring together expertise and stories from communities, researchers, and policy actors in addressing the intersections of aging with gender, LGBT rights, poverty, and racial equality in both high and low-income country contexts to begin to create partnerships that can contribute to a shared agenda.

Throughout the 2025–2026 academic year, the USC Institute on Inequalities in Global Health (IIGH) is convening a series of dialogues examining how large-scale and multi-country partnerships can respond to the complex challenges of this era. Inequalities in global aging require new models for research, new interventions, and attention to the inevitability of aging in all of our lives.

The dialogue will be moderated by IIGH Director of Policy Engagement Jonathan Cohen with opening remarks from IIGH Director Sofia Gruskin.

The webinar is hosted by the USC Institute on Inequalities in Global Health.

Please join us on Wednesday, February 18, at 9:00 am PST/12:00 pm EST/6:00 pm CET.