It’s Not just Women and Ethnic Minorities – Ageing employees are Experiencing Discrimination at Work
11% of American employees have experienced ageism on the job.
While the diversity advocators have been shedding light on the benefits of mixing things up in relation to ethnicity, background and gender, many of us have turned a blind eye against the issue of ageism in the workplace.
Mention the word ‘agesim’, and an image of silver-haired senior springs to mind. But actually age discrimination at work nowadays may start a lot sooner than that.
According to a new survey by GOBankingRates, 11% of Americans over 45 feel that their age has caused either a past or current employer to treat them unfairly.
Nearly half (45%) of respondents think ageism against older workers is common in the workplace.
Furthermore, the survey revealed that also among those surveyed, ageism was more common than discrimination resulting from a disability.
When it comes to age discrimination, most people agree that bias begins to take place when workers reach their 50s.
For example, 13% of Americans feel that their age has prevented them from getting hired – a sentiment most common among adults 65 and over.
Aside from the possibility of unfair recruitment opportunities, ageism can play out in an existing work arrangement, whether in the form of getting demoted or being fired unjustly.
While women tend to suffer from workplace discrimination more than men in general, interesting, in the aforementioned survey, men were more likely than women to say that they'd been treated unfairly because of their age.
GOBankingRates surveyed more than 500 adults over the age of 45. Respondents were asked whether they think their age has prevented them from getting a job or promotion and if it has led employers to treat them unfairly.
Currently there are 120 million people over 50 and 75 million Baby Boomers in the U.S., representing nearly 20% of the American public.
Over 40% of people at retirement age are not financially prepared.
Over 50% of people over 50 have less than $50,000 in retirement savings.
“Not knowing (about how to prepare financially for retirement) is costing us as a group. There are emotional and mental issues and stresses because we don’t know where to go. Pride is one of the words you hear, but it’s more than pride. We… were always taught to be self-sufficient.”– J., Los Angeles
Despite a substantial number of older workers still look for new employment opportunities, they are being held back by the prevalent ageism in the workplace.
These workers, who are mostly active users of Linkedin, have often “age-proofed” their CV by shortening their experience and leaving graduation dates blank.
In fact, 30% of the respondents aged 50-65+ said they have no plans to retire at all, with 20% looking at another 5-10 years in the workplace, according to a new survey by Next for Me, a platform that connects the post-50 generation to evolve through new job opportunities and social contribution.
They also yearn for resources customized for the 50+ workers – they are eager to connect with the tech-savvy generations and learn new tools that will help keep them relevant in the workplace. Oh and of course, to get help in fighting ageism at work.
“When I went to a networking event, no one cared about my experiences from the 90s. I’m not ready to retire. How do we prepare for the next place we’re headed?” – C.W., San Francisco
Source: Fox Business,