Diversity and inclusion in local governance: An Australian study of seniors' participation

The importance of hearing older people's voices within local governance processes is well recognised; however, the increasing diversity among older people makes this complex. Questions around inclusion and exclusion, representation and representativeness create challenges for the ways in which diverse older people are engaged. This paper uses the results from a qualitative study conducted in Australia to address the key research question: how does diversity impact on older people's perceptions and experiences of barriers to participation in local governance? Results indicate that diversity impacts not simply on what barriers are reported by seniors, but on how those barriers are experienced. Patterns among the barriers reported and their relationship with diversity reflect questions around representation and inclusion. Thus despite broad acceptance of the notion that understanding diversity is integral to inclusion, challenges remain for older people's engagement with local governance processes. A deeper understanding of diversity and how it relates to inclusion are required. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.