Something remarkable is afoot. The Victorian Chief Commissioner of Police, Ken Lay, and the Chief of the Australian Army, Lieutenant General David Morrison, are talking publicly about male attitudes towards women. On the Victoria Police website, Lay suggests that "our culture is filled with men who hold an indecent sense of entitlement towards women".

Lay and Morrison are both middle-aged men in charge of organisations with masculine cultures. They are not your typical feminists. Although many men treat women respectfully, these men go one step further by viewing social issues through "gender goggles". It is a giant step.

Gender goggles are illuminating. They bring into clear focus the fact that a person's gender influences attitudes and behaviours towards them. Gender goggles highlight issues for women such as discrimination, human rights abuses, domestic violence, rape, glass ceilings, inadequate childcare, political under-representation, , bullying and financial disadvantage such as unfair pay and unequal superannuation.

Unlike rose-coloured glasses and beer goggles that provide optimistic perceptions, gender goggles are not a frivolous fashion accessory. Lay's gender goggles enable him to see that some people perceive women as "less valuable than men". This perception applies to women of all ages, including older women.

When gender goggles are applied to older women, particularly women who have not been the family's breadwinner, they may show the humiliation of financial elder abuse. Studies confirm that financial abuse is the most common, and fastest-growing, type of abuse of older women.