Category: Ageism

The concept of popular culture has been existing as an essential component of life with its advantages and dangers. Since the concept associates closely with the public, the impacts between the two sides are consequential. Popular culture inherent with the youth is considered as the fundamental of the development of this culture. Although popular culture does not age with new trends coming up frequently, the artists can either keep up or be left behind by the flow with their ages. Is age a drawback for artists to maintain their careers? Is aging an impact on the support of fans towards their idols? This essay demonstrates the two above-mentioned questions by analysing the three concepts of Culture Studies: Popular Culture, Ageism and Nostalgia. This essay will examine the landscape of Pop Culture and how Ageism works together with this concept to determine the popularity of artists. Specifically, the essay addresses three celebrities: Robert Downey Jr., Daniel Radcliffe and Michael Jackson and their career with the influence of ageism. This essay will also conclude the viewpoint toward the statement above.

Culture has always been an undecided terminology, as the variety of notions by many professionals. This was proved by Raymond Williams by his statement ‘Culture is one of the two or three most complicated words’. Yet the word ‘Culture’ can be placed in different concepts such as politics; economy and more, the general usage, according to Lewis (2002) preferred to a synonym which describes the arts and the way of life and learning of each individual. This way of life prefers significantly to entertainment and popular culture then becomes ‘the interpretation of ‘Culture’’ (Rosenberg 1980, p.151), as an evaluation of contemporary society alongside with politics and economics. Popular culture has its broad landscape with the involvement of music, films, television programs, the Internet and the significantly close relationship with the public. Popular culture appears to be a daily basis of many people and communities, influences these objectives negatively and positively. The ‘Joker’ mass murder in the USA in 2012 is a remarkable example of the negative impact of pop culture, which James Holmes – the murderer – died his hair red and called himself “The Joker” when he was arrested after the shooting that cause the death of twelves people. On the other hand, pop culture is the opportunity for communities that involve people with similar interests to get together. These communities include people who are from similar backgrounds, races or ages. As a result, the concept of Age and Ageism plays a crucial role in the influence of popular culture on the public.

The concept of Ageism was firstly introduced by Butler in 1969 with his explanation as a process of ‘systematic stereotyping and discrimination’ against people because of their age (Butler 1975 in Allan et al. 2014, p.32). This explanation is later on expanded by Iversen et al. (2012, p.4) that these stereotypes include both negative and positive viewpoints. Ageism is considered as important as other social dimensions such as race or gender, but is neglected due to its nature that ‘Everyone ages’. Furthermore, Ageism causes the perception of elderly people to be locked and stereotyped, whether negatively or positively. However, it has been proved that one of the main concentrations of the research on Ageism is the solution to reduce ageism (Iversen et al. 2012, p.5). This reduction of Ageism in popular culture is not equal to reducing the popularity of the celebrities or changing fans’ viewpoint on their idols, but to prove that age has little effect on the idol culture.

Firstly, the essay evaluates a celebrity who has his career fluctuated before receiving the support from the public, Robert Downey Jr. Downey began as a child actor for his father’s movie – Robert Downey Sr. – who is an actor and filmmaker. During the early stages of his career, Downey was an average actor who played some excellent roles but also had some roles with poor ratings. However, what the public remembered about him for two decades, is a drug-addicted person who was arrested several times on drugs charge and even went through treatment programs. Only from 2004, after the actor came back from the rehabilitation and got his first role in the big screen, Downey’s career met its turning point and started to escalate. Nowadays, the audience remember Robert Downey Jr. as the success of Iron Man in The Avengers starting from 2012. Nowadays, the audience remember Robert Downey Jr. as the success of Iron Man in The Avengers and the comeback was called one of the most impressive and inspiring stories (Drug Abuse n.d., para 10). Robert Downey Jr. is a significant example of the little effect of aging on celebrities and their fans. His popularity is not defined by his age, but by his talent and the new attitude towards his career and his life. Apparently, after the change, he received more attention from the audience and professionals. The actor is calculated as one of the most paid actors by Forbes in 2013 (Pomerantz 2013). The systematic and stereotyping of Ageism that was mentioned above, especially for celebrities that creates disappointment for fans does not apply to this example of Robert Downey Jr.

Daniel Radcliffe can be considered as a positive example to support the statement. Daniel Radcliffe is not even a popular name as the role that he played during his early career – Harry Potter. Harry Potter became the most well-known play and earned him the popularity from the age of 11. Yet after the series, Radcliffe has been participating in other plays, but the shadow of Harry Potter is overwhelming the other plays he has. The audience nowadays is still familiar with a young wizard and his group at Hogwarts with magics surrounding them whenever the name of Daniel Radcliffe is mentioned. The actor admitted the difficulty of moving away from the typecasting of Harry Potter due to its popularity and the youth image he had (Setoodeh 2014). Harry Potter is the childlike memories for not only the actors but many audiences globally as the concept of nostalgia is linked closely to these memories. There are a few ways to explain the concept of nostalgia, but Higson (2013, p.122) describes the concept as the mediated experience of contemporary popular culture products. Harry Potter is in fact the mediated experience for many people to connect to their childhood, to experience the feelings they had, to see the images; listen to the sounds that they were familiar with as an adolescent. “It is the end of everything” is the way to express the viewers’ feeling after the last chapter of the series Harry Potter was released on screen (Fuoco 2011). Eventually, Radcliffe encounters several obstacles on his way to move on from the play. This does not mean Radcliffe achieves nothing after Harry Potter, he has been successfully pursuing his career as an actor. However, Harry Potter increased the expectation of fans to their idol, that afterward causes disappointment as their idol is no longer ‘a young boy with magic’ but a gentleman performing in Broadway. As a result, Danieal Radcliffe can be an appropriate example for the age of idols impacts heavily on fans’ expectations and creates disappointment.

The third example is Michael Jackson – the King of Pop music. Considering biological age, Michael Jackson is not the most appropriate example since he passed away at the age of 50. However, Jackson started his career as a member of his brothers’ pop group when he was five and became popular as a solo pop artist in the ‘70s. Correspondingly, the age here to evaluate is the long time that Jackson had spent on his career. Later, in 1983, his career reached its peak of popularity when his album – Thriller – was recorded as the biggest selling album during that time, with more than 45 millions copies were sold (History 2019, para 2). Having a successful path in his profession, but Jackson encountered several scandals and changes on his performance as a celebrity, significantly child molestation in 1993 and 2005. Yet the scandal is a stigma for Jackson’s career, he still got the support from his fans for the next album was planned to release just right before his death in 2009. It is undeniable that after the scandals and his long time in the field, Jackson is still called the ‘King of Pop music’ with countless support for several reasons. As a singer and songwriter, the quantity and quality of music he has produced during his career was the main attention for fans and supporters to concentrate on instead of his personal life. Hollander (2010, p.151) demonstrated this support as the emotional identification at its core is the connection of fans and idols. For example, the lyrics of his song ‘Heal the World’ is still able to inspire the audience after 27 years after its release. The song mentions love and care and against war, upholds its popularity in the contemporary world with similarly continuing issues. Eventually, after a decently long-life career, Jackson’s music maintained to be as phenomenal as the beginning of this solo journey with the success of his albums regardless of the scandals. Even after his bereavement, the unique movements that were produced when he was alive, such as the ‘Moonwalk’ dance and the relatable and touching song lyrics, still appear to be famous among young audience. Moreover, his new album including all the unreleased tracks was released after his death, that Jensen (2005, p.112) in Black (2017) described as the world that dead people continue to speak and sing. Michael Jackson was in fact a disappointment for fans due to the scandals and stigma he owned during his life, but certainly the support he got from fans and his supporters for his music out-distances the despondencies.

By demonstrating three different examples of contemporary popular culture, with two examples of Robert Downey Jr. and Michael Jackson has proven that youth culture is not fundamentally ageist, and artist, despite their age, are still be able to pursue their career with the support from fans and supporters. In fact, while Michael Jackson disenchanted hs fans by the scandals, the support he received for his music is undeniable, even after his death. Daniel Radcliffe is the only example to support the statement, but the circumstance is also different as he is still a young actor that can have a life-long career. The only factor that disappoints his fans is his mature appearance that intertwines with his age and career. Apparently, Daniel Radcliffe cannot stay young and attach to Harry Potter for his whole career only to keep his fans satisfied. Furthermore, since Radcliffe’s current image is dissimilar to Harry Potter, there will be new supporters that replaces the old ones ultimately. In conclusion, age is not a fundamental factors of popular culture’s obsession with youth culture. In spite of their age, celebrities can still have their stable and developed career and this success is determined by other factors than age.

Reference List

1. Allan, L.J., Johnson, J.A., Emerson, S.D. 2014, ‘The role of individual difference variables in ageism’, Personality and Individual Differences, vol.59, pp.32-37.
2. Black, J. 2017, ‘ The reification of celebrity: global newspaper coverage of the death of David Bowie’, International Review of Sociology, vol.27, no.1, pp.202-224.
3. Drug Abuse, 2019, Robert Downey Jr.’s Incredible Comeback from Addiction, viewed 28th October 2019. https://drugabuse.com/robert-downey-jr-s-incredible-comeback-from-addiction/
4. Fuoco, D.A. 2011, ‘Nostalgia, anxiety, sadness for “Harry Potter” fans’, Gale General Onefile, Tribune Content Agency, viewed 28th October 2019. https://go-gale-com.ezproxy.lib.uts.edu.au/ps/i.do?&id=GALE|A261443410&v=2.1&u=uts&it=r&p=ITOF&sw=w
5. Higson, A. 2014 ‘Nostalgia is not what it used to be: heritage films, nostalgia websites and contemporary consumers’, Consumption Markets & Cultures, vol.17, no.2, pp.120-142.
6. History, Michael Jackson is born, viewed 28th October 2019. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/michael-jackson-is-born
7. Hollander, P. 2010, ‘Michael Jackson, the Celebrity Cult, and Popular Culture’, Culture and Society, vol.47, no.2, pp.147-152.
8. Rosenberg, B.A., 1980, ‘Was There a Popular Culture in the Middle Ages?’, pp. 149-154.
9. Iversen, T.N, Larsen, L., Solen, P.E. 2009, ‘A conceptual analysis of Ageism’, Nordic Psychology, vol.61, no.3, pp. 4-22.
10. Pomerantz, D. 2013, ‘Robert Downey Jr. Tops Forbes’ List Of Hollywood’s Highest-Paid Actors’, Forbes, viewed 28th October 2019. https://www.forbes.com/sites/dorothypomerantz/2013/07/16/robert-downey-jr-tops-forbes-list-of-hollywoods-highest-paid-actors/#31e11357589f
11. Setoodeh, R. 2014, ‘Turning the page: how Daniel Radcliffe killed Harry Potter’, Variety, vol. 324, no.17.

I have chosen to review ‘Ageism in the Workplace’. This journal article was published by Helen Dennis and Kathryn Thomas in regard to Ageism that is still alive after the ADEA (Age Discrimination in Employment Act) has been around for over 35 years. I chose this article as it is relevant to the studies which I have taken in the module “The Discourse of Aging”. This article focuses on the many sides of Ageism and the discrimination that is evident within the workplace towards older people. For this assignment, I will show some of the relevant points in this article that I believe are the main points that link in with what I am currently studying in this module. I will also critique the points in which Dennis and Thomas have discussed in this article, backing them up with relevant sources.

From reading this article, I have taken a few points that I found interesting and relevant that Dennis and Thomas have brought up in this article. The article discusses how Robert Butler in 1968, defined ageism as the ‘systematic stereotyping of and discrimination against older people because they are old, just as racism and sexism accomplished this with skin color and gender’ (Butler, 1975). Dennis and Thomas exchange views on how ageism is not only evident in the workplace, but in healthcare, media, advertising, and education. In this day and age, we always see young models in the media and advertisements. (Dennis and Thomas, 2007). In the workplace, it is more evident when it comes to hiring a new employee. Many employers will look for a young employer has they think that they are more capable. Sarah Kagan wrote an article on “How Respect for our Elders is Ageism” and discusses how we tend to try and assist the elderly in tasks as we think that they are “incapable” of doing it themselves. (Kagan, 2018). This links in with ‘Ageism in the Workplace’ as it is often stereotyped to hire a young person a lot quicker than a more mature person. Personally, I don’t agree with this as the mature person could have a lot more experience than the younger person.

Although it is said that ageism in the workplace is mainly to do with hiring, Dennis and Thomas have proved otherwise, backing up their information well. They explain how only 10% of the complaints made to the ADEA were in regard to hiring. They also talk about how 63% of complaints were thrown out due to irrelevancy. (Dennis and Thomas, 2007). The Anti-Ageism taskforce (2006) discusses how the majority of ageism is not reported as it is difficult to prove in the workplace. While it is true that ageism is to do with the elderly like it is said in this article, there are many other articles that prove that ageism in youth is a big part of it also. In a recent study, younger workers were stereotyped by both older- and middle-aged workers with unsavory labels such as lazy, irresponsible, and arrogant (Finkelstein, Ryan, & King, 2013).

They discuss how ageism is evident in healthcare “Ageism is pervasive and evident in the media, healthcare, education, and advertising”. (Dennis and Thomas, 2007). They continue on to talk about how healthcare assistants just automatically assume that an elderly person is incapable of completing tasks on their own, so the healthcare assistants do it for them. Evidence of this is backed up in Sarah Kagan’s article “When Respect for our elders is Ageism”. Kagan explores the stereotype and shows us how we can be ageists unknown to ourselves. By saying stuff such as “oh let me do that for you” or “I can help you with that” may easily offend an elderly person who is more than capable of completing it on their own. The realization can help us calm down with ageism, but she is correct in her views. Kagan talks about how we have a caring personality towards an elderly person and automatically want to help them although they might not need it, which backs up Dennis and Thomas’ discussion.

A big part of “Ageism in the Workplace” is the discussion on the pension and the retirement age. It is discussed how employers don’t like to hire mature people as they are closer to the retirement age and the pension age. This is another massive stereotype in regard to Ageism. Having the retirement age at 65, when many people are capable to work over this age. This is when people typically start referring to people at this age as “older people”. People use that quote in reference to the age 65 or older because it is linked with the retirement age. (Ruddle et al., 2015).

In conclusion, from reading this article I can now see how ageism is so highly used in everyday life and how it is so easily used in the workplace, whether it is a mature person themselves working or whether it is a young person working in healthcare services with elderly people. I also can now see how ageism is not just to do with elderly people and how young people can be discriminated against too. Reading this article and the other sources that I used to back up the information I am now more aware of what ageism is defined as and I feel more educated towards what I am currently learning in our module “The Discourse of Aging”.

Introduction

In recent years, the academic interest in organisational changes concerning our workforce ageing has increased tremendously, as indicated by recent publications (such as: Standifer, Lester, Schultz, & Windsor, 2013). Ahmed, Andersson, & Hammarstedt (2012) is one of the many findings that urge us to pay more attention to the problems that workers face in the current labour market due to their age. I am particularly interested in the implications age can have during the recruitment and selection processes. Although, there are sufficient other factors and characteristics that can easily play a role during the selection process, age seems to be “one of the three “primitive categories” by which people instantly categorise someone (race and gender are the other two) (Hamilton DL, Sherman JW, 1994)” (Nelson, T. D., 2019). While exploring the literary research on this matter, it is inevitable to come across the term of ageism. “Ageism is the stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination against people on the basis of their age” (Burnes et al., 2019, p. 1). Specifically, the existence of ageism in the hiring process is of concern as “[t]he scope of ageism is expected to expand in the context of a growing ageing population around the world” (Burnes et al., 2019, p. 1). This issue is also subject of increasing empirical analysis for it is fundamental to the adaption of the evolving and ever-changing nature of work and organisations (Mohamed, Singh, Irani, & Darwish, 2013).

For this reason, my paper addresses the key related research question: has the age of the job applicant any bearing on the employee selection? More concretely, the content of this paper is not only directed at informing readers about the influence age exerts on selection processes, but also at addressing its consequential issues such as ageism, and endorse equal opportunities for both younger and older workers.

Given the increasing importance of our ageing population and its possible effects in the workplace, the issues of this paper should be mainly of interest to job applicants, recruiters, HRM managers, and firms. It is of interest to job applicants as it tackles the employment barriers one can be confronted by in the selection process. Crucially important, is for recruiters and managers to jointly progress towards more age-neutral hiring decisions that focus more on performance and less on age. Moreover, improving the employability of workers will also benefit the firm in the long-run as it is imperative that organisations use all of the available talent, skills, and knowledge our labour market has to offer.

This paper contributes to the literature on HR practices regarding the recruitment and selection, by illustrating how age affects the workers in the context of selection and providing recommendations for HRM managers via the empirical studies from which the data were drawn. In addition, it depicts existing knowledge on the literature stream that stresses the issue of ageism. This paper also strives to emphasise the lack of focus on younger workers, since research on the influence of age during recruitment has focused primarily on the older generation.

Regarding my search methods, I made use of the following databases: Business Source Complete, Web of Science, RU Quest, and Google Scholar. I also utilised the Snowball, Citation, and Growing search method. Eligible studies will be those that (1) examine the effect of age in the recruitment and selection field, (2) address the matter of ageism, (3) evaluate interventions and practices designed to reduce ageism, and (4) are published between the years 2000 up to 2019 (with a few exceptions, when necessary). The focal point of my search criteria is ‘age’.

I combined these terms using AND / OR / NOT Boolean operators. As well as used the truncation symbol* added at the end of the word ‘age’ to find other variations of the keyword. An example of a search string is: (“ageism” OR “ageist” OR “age” OR “age group”) AND (“unemployment” OR “jobless” OR “pension” OR “workless”) AND (“discriminat*” OR “diversity” OR “inequity”).

Performing a literature-based research helped identify gaps in the existing literature. It was also useful for illustrating the trends of the age stigma concerning younger and older workers. Besides, “the research evidence on the relationship between age and job performance is by no means conclusive” and therefore assisted the research process to focus on the phenomena of ageism rather than assessing work effectiveness based on age (C.K. Chiu, Chan, Snape, & Redman, 2001, p. 6).

Section 1 and 2 includes an analysis of the literature on the HR practices in relation to the worker’s age. Section 3 and 4 compares the stereotypical beliefs of younger and older workers, from the viewpoint of recruiters and/or employers, as a factor affecting the selection process. Section 5 explains the concept of ageism and under-lying causes of age discrimination. Section 6 ends the paper with recommendations and a conclusion of how age influences the selection outcomes in the workplace.

Body

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the area of research whether people are discriminated against in the hiring process based on their age.

Recruitment and selection

According to Mohamed, Singh, Irani, & Darwish (2013), recruitment and selection is described as a major HRM practice that aids in finding the right employees for jobs. Mohamed et al. (2013) recognises the importance of employing the right people in an organisation as it can accelerate the organisation’s growth and help gain competitive advantage, ultimately ensuring a better agreement between the organisation’s needs and the employee’s skills. Specifically, the way in which recruiters select employees is a key factor to organisational success. This paper endorses selection to be based on “merit by focusing on application form information about skills and abilities and on performance at interview” and not on age (Rupp, Vodanovich, & Credé, 2005, p. 21).

Age

Age can be one of the main barriers to employment for workers, as it long-time knowledge that age is a significant determinant of job involvement (Dailey & Morgan, 1978). “Discrimination based on age is a rather unrecognised form of prejudice, but ageism occurring in the labour market should be seen as serious problem” (Ahmed, Andersson, & Hammarstedt, 2012, p. 4). To illustrate the affect age has on one’s employability chances, we need to consider both sides of the spectrum, meaning the positive and the negative effects. For this, we draw upon ethnographic data of the recruitment practices collected by C.K. Chiu, Chan, Snape, & Redman, (2001).

One can argue that discriminative attitudes are encouraged through fixed ideas and images we hold someone accountable by – bringing us to the theme of stereotypes. Stereotypes can be defined as subjective generalisations that reveal how you perceive certain categories or individuals affiliated with a category, while often holding a negative attitude (Maykovich, 1972). Whilst addressing the subject of age regarding workers’ selectivity, it is fruitful to understand how age is interpreted amongst recruiters, managers, and employers. Stereotypical beliefs may directly correlate with the selection, because such beliefs held by recruiters and employers could ultimately influence hiring decisions.

Below, I will encapsulate the general stereotypical beliefs following one’s age. This segment will be divided into two – differing between younger and older workers. Before proceeding, I would like to address the concern for this segment to be highlighting only the stereotypical beliefs rather than reflecting actual job performance. The age stereotypes mentioned may of course be inaccurate or not always applicable, nonetheless we can not underestimate its power in fostering the treatment of prospective employees.

Stereotypical beliefs about older workers

“Organisational-level HRM is, for the most part, still characterised by discrimination of older employees in recruitment…(Wood et al., 2008; Walker and Maltby, 2012)” (Schröder, Muller-Camen, & Flynn, 2014, p. 2). We usually consider an ‘older worker’ to be “someone over 50” (C.K. Chiu, Chan, Snape, & Redman, 2001, p. 9). However, contradicting results emphasised “that a high degree of discrimination was found for people as young as 46, indicating that ageism is present at relatively early ages” (Ahmed et al., 2012, p. 4). The study of C.K. Chiu, Chan, Snape, & Redman (2001) confirmed the stance of stereotypical beliefs to negatively affect the older worker’s prospects in the workplace. It is no novelty for older workers to encounter age discrimination from employers, resulting in “less favourable treatment in recruitment, promotion, and training” (C.K. Chiu, Chan, Snape, & Redman, 2001, p. 2). These results show the extent to which the attitudes towards older workers has a significant impact. A “possible reason for this discrimination is that older workers may be perceived as having certain undesirable characteristics, including poor health, an inflexible attitude, resistance to change and low trainability” (C.K. Chiu, Chan, Snape, & Redman, 2001, p. 2). These employer attitudes towards older workers clearly reflect on the negative stereotypes that are being held.

On the other hand, there were a handful of positive beliefs about older workers, too. For example, “older workers as more effective at work” (C.K. Chiu, Chan, Snape, & Redman, 2001, p. 1).

Ageism

In this section, we will address ageism with particular emphasis devoted to understanding age bias. Stereotypes establish institutional norms that can lead to discrimination and age-related discrimination (Burnes et al., 2019). Research has indicated how age discrimination is a long-neglected issue and is quite prevalent in today’s society (Palmore, 2001) (Rupp, Vodanovich, & Credé, 2005, p. 336). Especially, the recruitment of workers is a process where one can evidently see which identities and characteristics are encouraged and which are retracted (Barratt, 2003; Bergstrom & Knights, 2006) (Riach, 2007).

Additionally, an age similarity preference (ASP) held by employers can increase workplace difficulties (Standifer, Lester, Schultz, & Windsor, 2013). The term age similarity preference (ASP) describes whether a person prefers to work with others of their own age or not” (Standifer, Lester, Schultz, & Windsor, 2013). This concept suggest that managers rate applicants in light of their similarity to themselves, meaning older employers favour older workers and younger employers favour younger workers, in a way maintain a positive social identity as a member of their age group.

Recommendations in tackling barriers on the side of job applicants

“Wage setting procedures should be adjusted, with more focus on performance and less on tenure and seniority” (OECD, 2014, p. 12).

“Age-neutral personnel treatment should be included as a target in the… employment selection” (OECD, 2014, p. 12).

“Better targeting of measures to … increase employability and promote recruitment of older workers” (OECD, 2014, p. 12).

“New practices in the Sustainable Employability programme should progressively become national standards” (OECD, 2014, p. 12). A” programme called “Sustainable Employability” was implemented in April 2012 in an agreement between the government and the social partners. Its goals include prevention of unemployment and illness, as well as improved productivity levels among the entire working population regardless of age” (OECD, 2014, p. 12).

“More stringent recruitment and selection policies” (Mohamed et al., 2013, p. 19)

Conclusion

The purpose of this paper was to summarise the differences in the recruitment and selection practices of job applicants of different ages. Since this paper is limited to one particular kind of practice, that is, the selection process, more research is needed. Also, it is highly suggested for researches to pay more attention to the problems that younger workers face because in the labour market.

References

1. Ahmed, A. M., Andersson, L., & Hammarstedt, M. (2012). Does age matter for employability? A field experiment on ageism in the Swedish labour market. Applied Economics Letters, 19(4), 403–406. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504851.2011.581199.
2. Burnes, D., Sheppard, C., Henderson, C. R., Wassel, M., Cope, R., Barber, C., & Pillemer, K. (2019). Interventions to Reduce Ageism Against Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. American Journal of Public Health, 109(8), e1–e9. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2019.305123.
3. C.K. Chiu, W., Chan, A. W., Snape, E., & Redman, T. (2001). Age Stereotypes and Discriminatory Attitudes towards Older Workers: An East-West Comparison. Human Relations, 54(5), 629–661. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726701545004.
4. Dailey, R. C., & Morgan, C. P. (1978). Personal Characteristics and Job Involvement as Antecedents of Boundary Spanning Behavior: A Path Analysis. Journal of Management Studies, 15(3), 330–339. https://doi-org.ru.idm.oclc.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.1978.tb00928.x.
5. Maykovich, M. K. (1972). Stereotypes and Racial Images -White, Black and Yellow. Human Relations, 25(2), 101–120. https://doi.org/10.1177/001872677202500201.
6. Mohamed, A. F., Singh, S., Irani, Z., & Darwish, T. K. (2013). An analysis of recruitment, training and retention practices in domestic and multinational enterprises in the country of Brunei Darussalam. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 24(10), 2054–2081. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2012.723021.
7. Nelson, T. D. (2019). Reducing Ageism: Which Interventions Work? American Journal of Public Health, 109(8), 1066–1067. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2019.305195.
8. OECD (2014), Ageing and Employment Policies: Netherlands 2014: Working Better with Age, OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264208155-en.
9. Riach, K. (2009). Managing ‘difference’: understanding age diversity in practice. Human Resource Management Journal, 19(3), 319–335. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-8583.2009.00096.x.
10. Rupp, D. E., Vodanovich, S. J., & Credé, M. (2005). The Multidimensional Nature of Ageism: Construct Validity and Group Differences. The Journal of Social Psychology, 145(3), 335–362. https://doi.org/10.3200/socp.145.3.335-362.
11. Schröder, H., Muller-Camen, M., & Flynn, M. (2014). The management of an ageing workforce: organisational policies in Germany and Britain. Human Resource Management Journal, 24(4), 394–409. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12043.
12. Standifer, R. L., Lester, S. W., Schultz, N. J., & Windsor, J. M. (2013). How age similarity preference, uncertainty, and workplace challenges affect conflict. Human Relations, 66(12), 1597–1618. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726713482012.

What is meant by ageism and why is it an issue for social policy? Illustrate your answer with reference to one area of social or health care policy of your choice (e.g. health, social care, employment).

This essay aims to discuss the notion of ageism and its relationship with older people and social policy. The first paragraph will provide a basic account of nowadays UK’s society, to demonstrate the UK is now facing a serious ageing problem which needs to be tackled. The essay will then explain the relationship between ageism and age discrimination, to elucidate why this essay focuses mainly on youngster-older people ageism. Following on, measures and policies implemented by the government will also be addressed to examine the limitations of such policies in eliminating the problem of age discrimination as well as significance. Finally, this essay will end with a conclusion on the UK still fail to promote an ageism-free society and urge a further reform to tackle the issue.

The UK has an ageing society is unquestionable, with a series of reports and studies supporting this statement. According to the latest statistic released by the Office for National Statistic (ONS), the total population of the UK has exceeded to 66 million at 30 June 2017, nearly 12 million (11,989,322) people have aged 65 or above, 5.4 million aged over 75 and over 500,000 people aged over 90. (ONS, 2018f) Given this, the number of people aged 65 or over is estimated to increase by more than 40% within the next 20 years. (The State of ageing in 2019, 2019, p.4) It is a doubt that the ageing phenomenon is causing an issue to the UK society, with the younger generation possess negative attitudes towards older people. To clarify, older people within this context are regarded as people over 65 or above while younger generations are defined as people under 65 (18-64 working adults). Instead, such negative phenomena towards older people are regarded as ageism. The term ageism was first coined by Butler during a Washington post interview (1969), he used the term ‘ageism’ to elucidate any unfair, injustice and ‘palpable biases’ in respect with ages, this includes any negative label, stereotype, and discrimination against people because of their age. (Butler, 1969) Given this, individuals tend to treat ageism and age discrimination as one similar term, yet ageism is broader than age discrimination as it refers to deeply embedded negative beliefs about older people and the ageing process, which may then give rise to age discrimination, ‘an unjustifiable difference in treatment based solely on age’ (Centre for Policy on Ageing 2009).

On the other hand, the term ageism is not specifically explaining negative attitude towards older people but also other age groups, Bytheway and Johnson added to the definition and argues that definition of ageism should also consider ageism as a belief originating in the biological variation between people and relating to the ageing process. As a result, ageism creates and reinforces anxiety and denigration towards the ageing process and stereotyping presumptions regarding competence and the need for protection. (Bytheway and Johnson, 1990) This created a trepidation within the younger generations towards the ageing process, believe that becoming old as a lapse. Therefore, it is no surprise that assumptions of the younger generations towards older people tend to be negative, such as: old as useless, unintelligent and poor (Thompson, 1996) and the disengagement theory (Cumming and Henry, 1961), the idea that older people fade away from social roles was necessary and beneficial for society, all aroused an invisible tension between the younger generations and older people, ageism is thence resulted and clustered predominantly towards older people.

Instead, older people themselves also accept these negative metaphors of aging imposed from the outside, even their inner portrait or personal metaphor does not necessarily conform to the outer portrait. (Gary Kenyon, p.2) This labelling act may result in a self-fulfilling prophecy, which reduced older people’s motivation to strive for their deserved welfare even they have social needs, studies show that older people ‘continue to be viewed as passive recipients of care first and foremost’. (Bowers et al 2009, study) These conflicts between the two generations fostering the notion of ageism to be prevalent within the society, leading policies by states also reinforce some discrimination towards older people and excluded them to benefit fully from the valuable care resources. Therefore, this essay will now discuss in detail how ageism prevalent within the social care sector in current British society.

Before any discussion of ageism within the social care system, three facts related to the social care system needs to be clarified. First, the adult social care system is streamed by ages, people who aged from 18 to 64 would receive work-age services while people who aged over 65 would receive the older people’s services. Secondly, the main services user of the adult social care system is older people, therefore any reduction in funding towards the adult social care system would cause indirect age discrimination. (Kings Fund, 2000, p. 9) Finally, social care is partly private and partly state-funded, local authorities possess the responsibility to deliver care services to those who passed the centrally set needs and mean test. (Institute for government, 2018)

Featherstone and Hepworth (1990) argue that old age began when individuals become ‘helpless’ and ‘dependent’ rather than when they lived for a particular period of time. Sadly, the adult social care system holds an opposite view and set the services and funding streamed by age. Accordingly, statistics and reports show that services and treatment are largely different among the two groups, with older people being treated less harmoniously. (Robert et al.,2012; Kings Fund report, 2018; CPA 2019) The final State of Social care report (CSCI 2008, study) supported the above argument and identified institutional ageism within its research. The report suggests the wider cultural norms and mores had a significant effect on older people’s treatment, whereas people’s expectation towards older people tends to be lower. Most surprisingly, even carer themselves also agreed older people should have accepted a different and inferior quality of life. (CPA, 2009, P.19) Given this, a survey has been done of 100 managers in the health and care sector (Robert et al., 2012, survey), the survey found that respondent in social care services were the most subjected to ‘institutional discrimination’, even the director of social services argues that ‘we presume to pay largely higher amount for residential care for younger adults. It is historical and was based on lower expectations…’ (CPA, 2009, p.19) The too embedded negative stereotypes towards older people have aroused ageist attitude of care managers to assume older people deserved a more restricted of life, with limited choices and options. (JRF 2004, study; Walker and Walker, 1998) The report shows that older people in one in six care homes did not receive sufficient privacy and respect, with staff and managers in some homes talked with them impolitely, providing inadequate choices of activities or options to support their independence. (Time to listen in care Home, 2012, p.6) The problem of ageism has been heightened, wider stigmatize and stereotypes towards older people within society is now gradually infiltrated into carer’s cognition. It was found that older people’s care sector has a high labour turnover rate (28%) as well as vacancies. (Kings Fund report, 2018, p. 19) This is largely because payment for care workers is low and people do not see working with older people as a welcoming job. (Social Care Institute for excellence report, p.5)

On the other hand, becoming old also means lower mobility and higher risk of loneliness, studies show that men at age 65 in the UK can be expected to live independently for about half of their remaining life (ten years of their 19 years), while the picture for women is even worse with only ten years of their extra 21 years is spent without a disability on average. (The State of ageing in 2019, 2019, p.11) In light with this, the government has launched some adult social care services, varies from residential care services (care homes), nursing care services to personal care, etc., to promote and improve these disabled older people from social exclusion. (Kelly & Kenny, 2018) According to statistics, 21% of older people in England requires help for care needs from the local authority, (Triggle, 2018) with a total of 400,000 older people are in care homes now. (Laing-Busson, 2018) Among all the services users of adult social care, older people are the main services user. It was found that most of the spending on care homes services (61%) are for people aged over 65, which contributed approximately 83% of those supported in care homes. This proved that adult social care stands an important value within older people. However, statistics and studies show that funding towards older people is dramatically decreasing since 2010 due to the austerity measures by the coalition government. Studies show that the majority of local authorities have responded by cutting spending on most categories of local government-funded activities, including social care for older adults. Services in the community for older adults have seen the largest reductions, with £539 million, was taken out of the total expenditure. The large reduction in adult social care could mean indirect discrimination towards older people (Kings Fund, 2000, p. 9) and denotes how problematic the quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) was as the QALYs based largely on an estimate of the years of life remaining of an individual that disadvantages older people. (Royal College report, 2012, p. 9)

Despite the fact that social care policies normally attract little attention among the public, the state indeed implemented some programmes and policies which aims to eliminate the problem of ageism, especially in Wales. The first piece of policy was the First Strategy for Older People in Wales in 2003, aimed specifically to tackle the ageist attitude and ageism towards older people. The policy signified the state was determined to confront ageism and successfully aroused awareness among the public. Following on, the Older People’s Commissioner for Wales was launched as well under the act of Parliament in 2006, intends to review and challenge discrimination against older people in Wales. The commissioner was later cooperated with the Children Commissioner in 2017, to release a set of online resources to support communities establishing Intergenerational Practice(IP), changing the negative perceptions of older and younger people. (Older people’s commissioner for Wales, 2019, news) Given this, the cooperation surely a pivotal one as it encourages better ideas and assumptions towards older people and helps to ease any misunderstanding or ageist ideas towards older people, against carer within the care sector to treat older people on biases. Furthermore, the new National living wage (NLW) was launched in 2016 and performed a significant effect on carer’s attitude and motivation to work with older people. Aforementioned, working with older people tends to be an unwelcoming job for carer due to low paid and historical ageism, the policy makes the hourly salary of social carer from £ 7.20 an hour to £9 an hour by 2020 (Ageuk report, 2017, p.21) which greatly raised carers’ incentive to work within the elderly sector.

During the past 20 years, 12 White papers, Green Papers and other consultation regarding with social care have been launched. (Wenzel et.al., 2008) A series of report by different institutions such as the CPA 2009, Kingsfunds 2018 have signified how serious the problem of ageism has been brought and urge further reform. Yet, little has changed and limited formal legislations had been launched since the Equality Act 2010. As stated above, the historical ageism within society is gradually infiltrated within the care sector as a carer themselves also possess a negative assumption towards older people. Therefore, it is possible to argue that only a wider context of ageism within the society being tackled, discrimination or unfair treatment towards older people within the care sector could be diminished thoroughly.

References

1. Achenbaum, W. (2019). A History of Ageism Since 1969 | American Society on Aging. Retrieved from https://www.asaging.org/blog/history-ageism-1969
2. Adult social care. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/performance-tracker-2018/adult-social-care
3. age uk. (2017). Briefing: Health and Care of Older People in England 2017 (pp. 18-35). Retrieved from http://Briefing: Health and Care of Older People in England 2017
4. age uk. (2018). Ageism and Age Equality (Great Britain) (pp. 1-2). Retrieved from https://www.ageuk.org.uk/globalassets/age-uk/documents/policy-positions/cross-cutting-issues/ageism-and-age-equality-pp-great-britain-august-2018.pdf
5. age uk. (2019). Later Life in the United Kingdom 2019 (pp. 3,15-16). Retrieved from https://www.ageuk.org.uk/globalassets/age-uk/documents/reports-and-publications/later_life_uk_factsheet.pdf
6. Behan, D. Age equality and age discrimination in social care: An interim practice guide (pp. 4-10). Retrieved from https://lx.iriss.org.uk/sites/default/files/resources/guide35.pdf
7. Care Quality Commission. (2012). Time to listen In care homes (pp. 5-6). Retrieved from https://www.cqc.org.uk/sites/default/files/documents/time_to_listen_-_care_homes_main_report_tag.pdf
8. Centre for Policy on Ageing – Policies on Ageing -. (2019). Retrieved from http://www.cpa.org.uk/cpa/policies_on_ageing.html
9. for Policy on Ageing. (2010). A REVIEW OF AGE DISCRIMINATION IN PRIMARY AND COMMUNITY HEALTH CARE, SECONDARY HEALTH CARE, MENTAL HEALTH CARE AND SOCIAL CARE SERVICES IN THE UNITED KINGDOM (p. 3). Retrieved from http://www.cpa.org.uk/policy/briefings/discrimination_in_health_and_social_care.pdf
10. Chipperfield, G., & Havens, B. (1992). Why is Ageism a Serious Social Problem and What Can Be Done about It? (1st ed., p. 2).
11. Clark, A. (2009). Ageism and age discrimination in social care in the United Kingdom A review from the literature. Centre for Policy on Ageing. Retrieved from http://www.cpa.org.uk/information/reviews/CPA-%20ageism_and_age_discrimination_in_social_care-report.pdf
12. Green, D. Fixing the Care Crisis. centre for policy studies. Retrieved from https://www.cps.org.uk/files/reports/original/190426143506-DamianGreenSocialCareFinal.pdf
13. House of Commons. (2018). Long-term funding of adult social care (pp. 8-13). Retrieved from https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmcomloc/768/768.pdf
14. Ismail, S., Thorlby, R., & Holder, H. (2014). Focus On: Social care for older people. Quality Watch. Retrieved from https://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/files/2018-10/qualitywatch-social-care-older-people.pdf
15. King’s fund. (2000). Briefing note Age discrimination in health and social care. 1-2,9-12. Retrieved from https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/sites/default/files/field/field_publication_file/age-discrimination-health-social-care-emilie-roberts-kings-fund-1-june-2000.pdf
16. Members of executive of Faculty of Old Age Psychiatry, the Royal College of Psychiatrists. (2018). Suffering in silence: age inequality in older people’s mental health care (pp. 8-13). The Royal College of Psychiatrists. Retrieved from https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/docs/default-source/improving-care/better-mh-policy/college-reports/college-report-cr221.pdf?sfvrsn=bef8f65d_2
17. National Aduit Office. (2018). Adult social care at a glance. Retrieved from https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Adult-social-care-at-a-glance.pdf
18. Older People’s Commissioner for Wales. (2019). Solidarity between generations is vital, say Commissioners. Retrieved from http://www.olderpeoplewales.com/en/news/news/19-04-29/Solidarity_between_generations_is_vital_say_Commissioners.aspx#.XO8kGYhKiUk
19. The Kings Fund. (2018). Key challenges facing the adult social care sector in England (pp. 3-5,11-14). Retrieved from https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/sites/default/files/2018-12/Key-challenges-facing-the-adult-social-care-sector-in-England.pdf

Defining Ageism

In America, the elderly population is growing at a pretty vast rate as the baby boomer generation enters retirement. Corresponding to this growth, there is also an increase of a very immense problem – ageism. Ageism is the prejudice or discrimination on the grounds of a person’s age, especially towards the elderly population (Webster). This discrimination comes in four types: personal, institutional, intentional, and unintentional. Personal ageism is the most basic form, as it relates to one’s personal beliefs or perceptions pertaining to a particular age group. For example, everyone over the age of 65 must be feeble and wise. Institutional ageism involves rules and regulations with hidden agendas to separate different age groups. For example, a big corporate firm looking to hire entry level associates may require extensive knowledge in social media which is unlikely for an older person to attain although this skill could easily be taught through employee training courses. Intentional Ageism refers to the awful people who take advantage of innocent citizens due to their age. For example, I have seen many scams that trick young kids into putting their parents credit card information into a website in order to receive a “free video game” or something along those lines, in which the card is charged hundreds or thousands of dollars by an untraceable source. Another example would be the horrible problem of elder abuse that is plaguing this country. Lastly, unintentional ageism involves similar acts as intentional ageism, with the minor difference in which the perpetrator is unaware of the discrimination towards the various age groups.

Ageism is all around us, and you may not even realize that you subconsciously partake in ageism. Author and activist Ashton Applewhite comparatively describes “ageism is to age as racism is to race.” A common misconception is that ageism does not only pertain to the elderly, but it applies to any group of age. All it takes to be ageist is to stereotype a group of the population by their age. For example, you may think that Millennials are lazy and unappreciative, teenagers are dumb and reckless, everyone over 65 is old and miserable, etc. These are all biased judgments and can be encompassed as ageist. Instead of going into situations with preconceived notions of age, you should do some investigating and truly find out who the person is before making presumptions. Sadly, there are old people are out there who are the most ageist of all because of their extensive time living in such an ageist culture, which causes them to really internalize these skewed theories. Furthermore, our culture has morphed towards one in which elders are not prideful, but instead they are shameful. Due to social media and modern advertisement techniques, now more than ever there is an extreme divide between the normal person and the unbelievably unrealistic beauty standards. With the makeup, editing technologies, and the use of celebrity/models in the ads, there is now a sensation surrounding young and flawless looks. This builds off the shameful identification and denial of becoming more out of shape, having wrinkles, being more forgetful, among other imperfections that comes with age. Ageism is a prominent issue across the United States and it must be addressed appropriately.

However, there is a bright side. Despite the array of false stereotypes, according to Gallup poll data, happiness in one’s life comes in a U-Curve. The trough of said happiness actually occurs in one’s late 30s (Bates & Brown). I personally found this sad as I believe that is generally the age when a couple would be raising their adolescents, which I would hope is one of the best experiences available in life. At the same time, having kids puts much more financial stress on a family so I definitely see where this data is coming from. After these years, one’s happiness level takes on a consistent increase. This can be attributed to things such as being able to better control one’s negative emotions – such as anxiety, stress, and jealousy – and also needing a much lower level of stimulus in order to be happy.

Summary of Videos

A World Without Ageism

I really enjoyed this video as it was exceptionally informational. Ashton Applewhite highlights a lot of the negatives that have been effecting different age groups due to ageism, specifically pointing out the effects towards the elderly population. To be honest, I had not ever heard of ageism prior to viewing this video; and although I have been well aware of the effects of ageism, I did not fully understand the extent to which it plagues our country. A lot of the video was indeed pretty depressing. She mentions how it could be perceived that the only thing worse than getting old is actually passing away. Furthermore, she brings up the high volume of elder abuse cases that occur, and highlights how 5 out of 6 of these cases go unreported!

However, there were also a lot of positive aspects that I never knew about regarding the aging process. For example, considering all of the advances in the medical industry, it is becoming more comfortable and easy to live a healthy lifestyle at an older age. People are staying in the workforce longer than before, and the number of people living in elderly homes is on a steady decline as there are more elderly that can take care of themselves. Although, at these nursery homes, the elderly population are still enjoying many aspects of life including sex. Apparently the rates of romance/sexual intercourse at these locations are very apparent. This goes off of the point that physical/mental decline in elderly does not keep a vast majority of them from appreciating their lives. Some old people embrace the aging process, which has been proven to have a very positive effect on their lives. These people who realize that everyone wakes up a day older and consider themselves “an old person in training” have shown to perform better on memory tests, recover faster and more fully from injury, walk faster, and even live 7.5 years longer (The RSA).

SNL Echo Silver

This Saturday Night Live skit takes a direct hit at the elderly population. They made a spinoff of the Amazon Echo product, and said that Amazon was partnering with AARP – the nonprofit organization that strives to help the population deal with the aging process – to create a product specifically for old people. Considering the video on ageism that I had watched directly beforehand, it struck me how sensitive the topic of dementia could be for some people. The video really makes fun of those who struggle with hearing and memory problems. However, as bad as this may be, I believe that being able to recognize the flaws and stereotypes of one’s own social and/or ethnic group, and therefore be able to laugh at them, is an essential part to living a full life. For example, a very common stereotype is that white guys cannot jump or that they cannot dance. As a white guy myself, I obviously understand this is not true to every white male, however I do find it very comical when these areas are made fun of. Knowing my grandparents, I think they would really enjoy that skit and could look past the insulting aspects by sharing a laugh.

Millennial Job Interview

Going off of what I just said, I laughed a lot during the millennial job interview – and it wasn’t the first time I’ve seen it because my dad actually sent it to me a couple months ago. As a Millennial myself, I do see where the idea for that video came about. Obviously exaggerated to an extreme degree, that interviewee was displaying some of the stereotypes of the younger generation with the addiction to her smartphone and social media while expecting everything to be handed to her and being easily offended. I definitely see how some people would get angry at these kinds of satirical skits, but I believe it is a much more healthy approach to take a step back and laugh it off.

Pre and Post Perceptions

As I have mentioned, preceding the World Without Ageism video, I had not really known of the term ageism, especially the extent to which it exists. Because of this fact, I definitely think that there should be a large movement to build a national anti-ageism campaign. Organizations like AARP should work with a variety of companies, governments, and medias in order to successfully implement this campaign. After learning more about the Happiness U-Curve, it is evident to me that the notion that two thirds of one’s life is a decline, is an absolute fallacy. When I consider my own grandparents, I can really get a first-hand view on how much easier it is for them to flip a switch and be happy. For example, every time I call them to check upon them I can tell in their voice they are ecstatic to hear from me and I know it really makes their day. I always put forth an effort to visit them at least once every time I go back home to Florida. After learning what I have from the readings and video for this lecture, I will definitely make it a mission to engage with people of a larger variety of ages – mainly younger ones as I currently do a very good job on maintaining relationships with my older friends, dad’s friends, mentors, and extended older family members. Personally, I am looking forward to the aging process and what there is to come with it. I am excited to start a family, learn who my lifelong friends are, and constantly grow my intellect as I experience life. I am particularly interested on how my parents are going to deal with their own aging processes, as they are both very healthy, social, and young-looking individuals. As for society as a whole, I believe that the aging process will become more and more openly accepted as awareness of ageism spreads, and advances in the technology and medical industries help keep the aging population healthy and active.

The purpose of this speech is to bring awareness about agism in the cybersecurity industry. Ageism is still an issue in all industries especially tech industries and there some workers have worried about losing their job because of this.

Introduction

According to a report from the job-hiring website, Indeed, “43 percent of respondents said they are worried about losing their job because of their age.” (Mukherjee ‘REPORT: Ageism in the Tech Industry’ 2019) Ageism is still an issue that is happening today. I will be talking about discrimination against the aging population in the cybersecurity field. Being a Security degree at Slippery Rock university I had to take classes in the cybersecurity area and gained knowledge about this industry. This is a relevant to young professionals to have knowledge about this topic for your future careers. The main points that I will be talking about is what ageism is, Ageism in the cybersecurity and technology field and what we can do to help prevent ageism. Let’s start with the basics what is ageism?

Body

According to World health organization, Ageism is the stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination against people based on their age (‘Ageism’ 2019) Why is ageism a problem? Who is affected by ageism? The answer to this question is yes ageism is a problem.

Ageism is widespread and an insidious practice which has harmful effects on the health of older adults. (‘Ageism’ 2019) Ageism can affect any group, but often affects those who appear to be too young and inexperienced, and those who physically appear old.

Effects that are associated with agism.

1. Ageism has real mental and physical health consequences.
2. Some examples of effects would be an increased stress, depression and decreased productivity. (Seegert, Seegert, ‘How ageism can negatively affect the health of older adults’ 2016)

In many cultures, elders are held in high regard as a source of wisdom, is that the case in the technology industry.

Ageism affect on employees within the technology and cyber security field. Discrimination and bias are still major problems in tech, according to a new study from Dice diversity and inclusion survey. (SwannerJune ‘Ageism Still a ‘Major’ Problem in Tech: Dice Survey’ 2018) Some 68 percent of Baby Boomers say they’re discouraged from applying for jobs due to age. Around 40 percent of those who belong to Generation X feel ageism is affecting their ability to earn a living. According to the dice survey (SwannerJune ‘Ageism Still a ‘Major’ Problem in Tech: Dice Survey’ 2018) According to this graph these are the most common discriminations in the tech and cyber industry. 29 percent of all respondents say they’ve “experienced or witnessed” ageism in their current workplace or most recent employer. (SwannerJune ‘Ageism Still a ‘Major’ Problem in Tech: Dice Survey’ 2018) Age has been said to be in the ‘silent career killer’ in the tech industry. But employers must realize that diversity of thought – as well as experience – is critical for all organizations to thrive. We just learned about the study of the older generation with ageism but what about the youth do they have ageism towards them?

The reason that technology wants to hire younger professionals rather than older. Since the Tech industry is growing fast, they want young people or recent grads to be working at the company. Cyber threats are developing at rapid pace and is in demand for individuals with a modern understanding these threats and have knowledge about how to prevent them.

Two reasons for hiring young professionals rather than older individuals

• a. Younger professionals are typically cheaper than older professionals.

  i. Younger professionals have less experience

  ii. The older professionals have more experience which means they want higher pay

• b. The other reasons are that younger professional and recent grad are more experienced with new technologies and are aware of new cyber threats. It’s well known that the cyber security industry is facing skills gap. What can we do to prevent ageism?

There are many ways that we can help to prevent this discrimination.

Employees or candidates need to stand up from their self’s, if they are feeling discriminated against. Know your rights. Companies can start mentoring programs. Mentoring programs and career development opportunities are a very valuable for all ages. This can help to pass down the knowledge of the older generation in the field to the younger generation and the younger generation. Then it can work in reverse and the younger generation can teach the older generation about new technologies and cyber issues.

This can also combat workplace bias. To combat ageism involves all parties to ensure that there are equal opportunities.

Conclusion

When I was doing my research, ageism can start decreasing in this industry and all industries when more people realize the value that age diversity in a workforce brings, then we can start to see some progress. Now ageism cannot be diminished overnight, it will be a slow process, but we must start somewhere.

According to an article I read, rejecting ageism states “As this population is growing, so are the challenges to the fundamental human rights of older individuals. Taking population trends into account suggests that there is a compelling need to address ageism, stereotypes about ageism, and gaps in protections for what is estimated to be one in five people in the world have experience ageism” (Juneau Gary, PsyD & Rubin, PhD, ABPP ‘Rejecting ageism: Psychological perspectives and international human rights law’) Let’s help to end the discrimination against individuals age in the workplace.

Bibliography

1. “Ageism.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 14 Mar. 2019, https://www.who.int/ageing/ageism/en/.
2. Editor. “Ageism in the Tech Industry & Other Bias. Let’s Fight ‘Em All – ITSPmagazine ITSPmagazine: At the Intersection of Technology, Cybersecurity, and Society.” ITSPmagazine, ITSPmagazine, 28 Dec. 2016, https://www.itspmagazine.com/from-the-newsroom/ageism-in-the-tech-industry-other-bias-lets-fight-em-all.
3. Ferres, Zach. “The New Wave of Tech Founders Can Cure the Industry’s Ageism Problem.” Observer, Observer, 27 July 2019, https://observer.com/2019/07/big-tech-ageism-problem-cure/.
4. Giacobbe, Lynne. “Understanding Ageism: What Is It and Who It Affects.” Understanding Ageism: What Is It and Who It Affects, https://www.kendalathome.org/blog/bid/336888/understanding-ageism-what-is-it-and-who-it-affects.
5. Juneau Gary, PsyD, Juneau, and Neal S. Rubin, PhD, ABPP. “Rejecting Ageism: Psychological Perspectives and International Human Rights Law.” American Psychological Association, American Psychological Association, https://www.apa.org/international/pi/2016/12/rejecting-ageism.
6. Mukherjee, Raj. “REPORT: Ageism in the Tech Industry.” Indeed Blog, 14 Nov. 2019, http://blog.indeed.com/2017/10/19/tech-ageism-report/.
7. Recruitment, Secure. “Is Ageism Really a Problem in the Cyber Security Industry?” Secure Recruitment Ltd, Secure Recruitment /Wp-Content/Uploads/2017/12/SecureRecruitment_LogoMasterNew2-1030×311.Png, 28 Feb. 2019, https://www.secure-recruitment.com/ageism-problem-cyber-security/.
8. Seegert, Liz, et al. “How Ageism Can Negatively Affect the Health of Older Adults.” Association of Health Care Journalists, 7 June 2016, https://healthjournalism.org/blog/2016/06/how-ageism-can-negatively-affect-the-health-of-older-adults/.
9. Stauffer, Camille. “Fighting Ageism in Cybersecurity.” Automox Blog, https://blog.automox.com/fighting-ageism-in-cybersecurity.
10. SwannerJune, Nate. “Ageism Still a ‘Major’ Problem in Tech: Dice Survey.” Dice Insights, 20 June 2018, https://insights.dice.com/2018/06/12/ageism-tech-major-problem-survey/.
11. Williams, Howard, et al. “Ageism in Tech: The Not-so-Invisible Age Limit Developers Face.” TechTalks, 29 Mar. 2019, https://bdtechtalks.com/2019/03/29/ageism-in-tech-age-limit-software-developers-face/

Abstract

Due to the population of older people predicted to significantly increase, it is important to study young people’s perceptions of older people as ageism could become a more predominant discrimination. Four hundred and seventy-six participants were asked to complete a sketch of either their grandparent or an older person that is not a member of their family. Then to provide the age and the gender of the sketch as well as their own age and gender. After investigating young people’s perceptions of older people, it was found that the majority of young people in the study had positive attitudes towards their grandparents and other older people. Therefore, it was concluded that overall young people perceive people positively, but these perceptions could change due to life experience. Young people do not hold ageist attitudes however, many of these attitudes could be said to be stereotypical. Relational schema theory and Levy’s stereotype theory both suggest that the environment plays a role in negative perceptions of older people. These theories can be used to develop an understanding of how a young person’s perception of older people is formed. Thus, it is important that further research investigates the stereotypes that young people hold against older people and to look into interventions which could reduce these stereotypes.

Introduction

Even though every individual has the potential to experience the effects of ageism, the topic remains under-researched, in comparison to other prejudices such as sexism and racism, underappreciated and overlooked (North & Fiske, 2012). Ageism is the prejudice or discrimination towards individuals based on their age (Lyons et al, 2018). Ageism has been found to have a variety of negative impacts on an older individual’s: mental health (Lyons et al, 2018), cognitive performance (Marquet, Missotten, Dardenne & Adam, 2017) and quality of life (Kelchner, 1999). According to relational schema theory, the environment influences ageism. Attitudes shown towards age determines the formation of the schema for old and young people (Gendron & Welleford, 2017). Ageism is forecast to become a more prevailing global issue, driven by ongoing and accelerating demographic changes in population aging (North & Fiske, 2015). An association has been found between these demographic changes and negative perceptions of aging. (Marquet, Missotten, Dardenne & Adam, 2017). The World Health Organisation (WHO) predicts that the number of people aged 60 years or older will to rise to approximately 2 billion in 2050 (WHO, 2017). Therefore, it is becoming increasingly necessary to understand how older people are perceived so successful interventions can be developed to reduce ageism’s impact. Levy’s stereotype embodiment theory suggests, exposure to stereotypes during an individual’s life results in people developing stereotypes about older people. (Levy, 2009). The closeness with grandparents is positively associated with favourable perceptions of those same grandparents (Pecchioni & Croghan, 2002) whereas the attitudes towards other older adults are less clear. Lepinka (2015) gives an insight into the attitudes of older people as they found that media depictions of older people have surged with positivity. But, the effects of these media depictions are unknown on the perceptions of older adults. Even though undergraduates have generally positive attitudes toward older adults, (Mansfield-Green, Morrisseau, Valliant & Caswell 2015) their perceptions are found to be prevalent in, both positive and negative stereotypes (Barrett & Cantwell, 2007). Whereas, it has also been found that students have little stereotypes regarding old people (Leichstein et al, 2005). Hoogland and Hoogland (2018) found a considerable differentiation in the perceptions of grandparents and older people, with older people being described more stereotypically than grandparents. Due to incoherent findings, it is hard to make generalisations about the general perceptions of young people towards older people and their grandparents. The aim of this study is to find out whether the overall portrayal of older people by students predominantly positive or negative? Also, whether the portrayal associated with the category of the older person depicted (grandparents versus old people in general). It has been predicted that the findings of this study will be consistent with the findings of Barrett and Cantwell, 2007.

Method

Participants

There were 478 participants. Participants were students, not studying psychology, at the University of Lincoln. Participants were aged 18 – 25 (mean = 19) (SD =1.1). There were 277 females, 196 males, 1 agender, 2 gender non-binary and 2 gender variant/ non-conforming participants. An opportunity sampling method was used to collect participants.

Materials

Participants were given an A4 blank sheet of paper which asked them to draw either a grandparent or an old person, then to put the age and the gender of the drawing. They were also asked to provide their gender and age. A pen was given to fill out the questionnaire and sketch.

Procedure

Firstly, the participants were given a verbal brief and then they asked to give verbal consent to take part in the study. The study was an independent measures design meaning there was two conditions in which participants could have taken part in, this was chosen at random by the researcher. In Condition 1, the participant draws a picture of an old person (who is not a member of their family). In Condition 2, the participant draws a picture of a grandparent. Participants were then to provide written responses to questions about their drawing. They were asked two questions; the first question was “What is the gender of the person in your drawing?” and the second question was “What is their approximate age?”. They were asked to provide their age, gender, and a memorable word so they could anonymously withdraw their data from the study later if they wish to. Lastly, the participants were provided with a verbal debrief. They were given a take home slip. There was no time limit to complete either conditions.

Ethics

Approval for this study was gained from the School of Psychology Research Ethics Committee. Ethics application decision – PSY1718394. Before participants took the questionnaire, they were verbally briefed about the study, so they could give valid informed consent. This also eliminates the deception of participants. They were also ensured that their anonymity will be maintained throughout the entire study and were referred to as numbers in the data set.

Participants were assured that they did not need to reveal anything about their age/gender if they did not wish too. Additionally, they were told that they could leave the study at any point if they felt uncomfortable. At the end of the study, participants were debriefed about the true aim of the study. They were given the option to withdraw their data after taking part, by giving a memorable phrase at the end of the study, this allowed participants to withdraw their responses anonymously. Take home slips were given which encouraged them to contact student wellbeing if any emotion issues had been triggered by the study.

Method of analysing results

The analytic strategy of Robinson, Zurcher & Callahan (2015) was used to code drawings as either positive or negative. Drawings in both conditions, were analysed in the same way. They were analysed via positive and negative signifiers (Appendix A). These age signifiers were adapted from the methodology of Barrett and Cantwell (2007). The decision as to whether the drawing was positive or negative was made in collaborative teams, the teams would reach full agreement or take the majority decision. (Barrett and Cantwell, 2007)

Results

The drawings ranged from highly detailed sketches (Appendix B) to simple stick people (Appendix C). The minimum age of the person drawn was 41 years old and the maximum was 98 years old. (M= 74) (SD =8.69). Overall, more drawings were classed as positive (n=284) than negative (n=194). There were more males (n = 254) drawn than females (n=222) with even less for transgender (n =1) and gender variant/nonconforming (n=1).

There was no significant difference between the age of person drawn and condition, t (472.274) = 1.069, p = .286. Levene’s test indicated unequal variances (F = 4.34, p = .038), so degrees of freedom were adjusted from 476 to 472. (Appendix D). Overall, it was found that the participant sketches were significantly positive rather than negative. (χ² (1) = 16.946, p = 0.01). (Appendix F)

A significant association was found between the perception of older adults and grandparents (χ ² (1) = 11.244, p =.001) Overall, grandparents were seen more positively than older people (Figure G)

Discussion

To be classed as an ‘older person’, an individual must be 65 years or above, (World Health Organisation, 2002) however, findings are not consistent with this. The youngest participant sketch was 41 years of age and the oldest being 98 years of age. Suggesting that, individuals all have different perceptions of what classes as ‘old’. Classing 41 – 98-year olds as old would imply that they are similar (Morrow-Howell, 2012). Therefore, it is not well established as to what young people define as ‘old’. This is supported by t-test results which suggest that young people do not have a stereotypical age for older people.

Young people generally have a positive perception of older people. Findings were consistent with the findings of Mansfield-Green, Morrisseau, Valliant and Caswell, (2015). Both finding an overall, positive attitude towards older people. Inferring that most young people are not ageist. Despite this, the participant sketches were coded via positive and negative signifiers (Appendix A). These signifiers include predominantly positive and negative stereotypes. Thus, it could be suggested that a different method of data collection be used such as a questionnaire with open-end questions to avoid the influence of stereotypes on data. Thus, it is hard to say whether young people are ageist as the method of analysis was flawed.

There could be longitudinal changes in a younger person’s perception of older people. Robinson, Zurcher, and Callahan (2015) found that 78.9% of older people were perceived as positive and 21.1% were viewed negatively. Contradicting this study as it was found that 59.4% of older people were viewed positively and 40.6% were viewed negatively. This shows that older adults are perceived more negatively as children get older. This is evident as the participants of Robinson, Zurcher and Callahan’s study were 8-12 years of age, whereas the participants in this study, were 18 – 25. Furthermore, in Robinson. Zurcher and Callahan’s study more women (59.9%) were sketched then men (40.1%). Whereas in this study, more men (53.1%) were sketched than women (46.4%), transgender (0.2%) and gender variant/ non-conforming (0.2%) Therefore, a cross-sectional study would be useful to distinguish why this change has occurred. A potential explanation could be that younger children see older women almost like ‘motherly’ figures thus, associate them with positive signifiers. As children get older, they are not in the home environment as often, therefore, form different relational schemas about older people.

Overall, grandparents were preferred over other older people. Support for this finding comes from Hoogland and Hoogland (2018) who found that grandparents were perceived more positively than other older people with personality being the predominant factor in their perception. Furthermore, this supports Pecchioni and Croghan’s (2002) study who found that the closer an individual is to their grandparents, the more positively they perceive them.

It is suggested that people have varying relational schemas of older people and grandparents. Implying that young people have been subject to a range of experience which shapes their perception. Findings suggest that the environment facilitates negative attitudes towards older people as individuals age. Findings also relate to Levy’s stereotype theory as it could suggest that children become more exposed to negative aging stereotypes as they get older.

Future studies on the perception of older people and grandparents should measure perception using a different method to participant sketches. This is because drawings are open to interpretation and as a scientific study, qualitative data is the least objectifiable. It could be recommended that future study’s use a methodology like Hoogland and Hoogland (2017). Where students were given 60 seconds to write down what words come into mind when they think of a grandparent, older person or young person. This would have increased that objectivity of results. Future studies should also use a longitudinal or cross-sectional methodology to investigate the changes in perception over time. To make generalisations about young people, it would also be beneficial to study cross-culturally.

In conclusion, young people generally view older people and their grandparents positively, however, changes to individual’s perception may have occurred due to life experience. Young people prefer their grandparents to older people overall. These perceptions may be due to relational schema theory or Levy’s stereotype theory. Therefore, most young people cannot be said to be ageist as they do not discriminate solely on the variable of age so, other factors must contribute towards their perception. Thus, no intervention would be needed to change young people’s perception of older people. Instead, an effort should be made to challenge the stereotypes of older people. Comment by Amelia: Other factors contribute towards perception

References

1. Barrett, A. E. & Cantwell, L. E. (2007). Drawing on Stereotypes: Using Undergraduates Sketches of Elders as a Teaching Tool. Educational Gerontology. 33(4), 327 – 348. https://doi-org.proxy.library.lincoln.ac.uk/10.1080/03601270701198950
2. Cherney, I.D., Seiwart, C.S., Dickey, T.M. & Feichtbeil, J.D. (2006). Children’s Drawings: A Mirror to their Minds. Educational Psychology. 26(1), 127 – 142. https://doi-org.proxy.library.lincoln.ac.uk/10.1080/01443410500344167
3. Gendron, T.L., Inker, J. & Welleford, E.A. (2017). A Theory of Relational Ageism: A Discourse Analysis of the 2015 White House Conference on Aging. The Gerontologist. 58(2). 242 – 250. https://doi-org.proxy.library.lincoln.ac.uk/10.1093/geront/gnw155
4. Hoogland, A, I. & Hoogland, C.E. (2018). Learning by listing: A content analysis of students’ perceptions of older adults and grandparents. Gerontology & Geriatrics Education. 39 (1). 61-74. https://doi.org/10.1080/02701960.2016.1152271
5. Kelchner, E.S. (1999). Ageism’s impact and effect on society: Not just a concern for the old. Journal of Gerontological Social Work. 32(4), 85-100. https://doi-org.proxy.library.lincoln.ac.uk/10.1300/J083v32n04_07
6. Kydd, A., Fleming, A. Gardner, S. & Hafford-Letchfield, T. (2018). Ageism in the Third Age. Contemporary Perspectives on Ageism. 19(International perspectives on aging). 115 – 130. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73820-8_8
7. Lepianka, D. (2015). How similar, how different? On Dutch media depictions of older and younger people. Aging and Society, 35(5), 1095–1113.https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X14000142
8. Levy, B.R. (2009) Stereotype embodiment: A psychosocial approach to aging. Current Directions in Psychological Science. 18(6). 332-336. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2009.01662.x
9. Lichenstein, M, J., Pruski, L, A., Marshall, C, E., Blalock, C, L. Lui, Y. & Plaetke, R. (2005). Do Middle School Students Really Have Fixed Images of Elders? The Journal of Gerontology: Series B. 60(1). 537 – 547. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/60.1.S37
10. Lyons, A., Alba, B., Heywood, W., Fileborn, B., Minichiello, V., Barrett, C, Hinchcliff, S., Malta, S. & Dow, B. (2018). Experiences of ageism and the mental health of older adults. Aging and Mental Health. 22(11), 1456 – 1464. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2017.1364347
11. Mansfield-Green, S., Morrisseau, N., Valliant, P.M. & Caswell, J.M. (2015). Undergraduate Students Attitudes towards and Personality Correlates, in Relation to Older Adults. Social Behavior & Personality: an international journal. 43(10). 1741- 1748. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2015.43.10.1741
12. Marquet, M., Misotten, P., Dardenne , B. & Adam, S. (2017). Interactions between stereotype threat, subjective aging, and memory of older adults. Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 26(1). 121 – 143. https://doi.org/10.1080/13825585.2017.1413166
13. Morrow-Howell, N. (2012). Toward a more Accurate View of “the elderly”. Journal of Gerontological Social Work. 55(5). 379 – 381. https://doi.org/10.1080/01634372.2012.691421
14. [bookmark: _Hlk4007395]North, M.S. & Fiske, S.T. (2012). An Inconvenienced Youth? Ageism and Its Potential Intergenerational Roots. Psychological Bulletin. 138(5), 982-997. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027843
15. North, M.S. & Fiske, S.T. (2015). Modern Attitudes Toward Older Adults in the Aging World: A Cross-Cultural Meta-Analysis. Psychological Bulletin. 141(5). 993-1021. https://doi-org.proxy.library.lincoln.ac.uk/10.1080/03601277.2014.983372
16. Pecchioni, L, L & Croghan, J, M. (2002). Young adults’ stereotypes of older adults with their grandparents as the targets. Journal of Communication, 52(4), 715–730. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2002.tb02570.x
17. Robinson, T., Zurcher, J. & Callahan, C. (2015). Youthful Ideals of Older Adults: An analysis of Children’s drawings. Educational Gerontology. 41(6), 440-450. https://doi-org.proxy.library.lincoln.ac.uk/10.1080/03601277.2014.983372
18. World Health Organisation. (May 2017). 10 facts on aging and health. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/features/factfiles/ageing/en/
19. World Health Organisation. (2002). Proposed working definition of an older person in Africa for the MDS Project. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/healthinfo/survey/ageingdefnolder/en/

Introduction

Ageism is a kind of stereotyping, inequity and preconception against people based on their ages (WHO, 2019). Ageism can be divided into two types of negative behavior towards older adults in different age ranges (WHO, 2019). One is the wrong consumption and attitude about older people who are still working as a result of the social age construction. For instance, people may think the senior employee would not work efficiently. Another is the misconception of the real needs of the older people whose ages are over 70. They need more accompany and care rather than stereotype and discrimination that they move and think slowly. The negative impact that has been brought on by ageism has become a controversial issue and an international concern. A study that focused on reducing ageism by education and contacts indicated that “ageism is persuasive in the United States, making it on an urgent social issue.” (Lytle & Levy, 2017). In America, over 70% of older people thought they had been treated unequally and insulted (Robbins, 2019). Ageism is described as insidious and ubiquitous behavior. (Sugar, Haslem, Skaar, Brancamp & Harris, 2017) A study proposed a model called Positive Education about Aging and Contact Experiences (PEACE), which this research focused on examining whether education will reduce ageism in North American society (Levy, 2016). Ageism in society will be reduced by the education system in terms of raising the awareness of old people’s abilities, providing knowledge about the aging process, encouraging to positively interact with different generations and combining both (knowledge and interaction) to break down stereotypes.

Education on aging

Recently, there has been nearly no education on ageism, which means students will not be told the negative impact brought by ageism. In North America, it is not able for researchers to distinguish people who have received education on ageism compared to people who have not, due to lack of education on ageism in North America (Levy, 2016). As a consequence, the lack of formal schooling about aging makes it become one of the key factors that increase the ageism. (Levy, 2016) A special kind of education system was constructed by a study, focusing on an aging course with service-learning project (Sugar et al., 2016). Three groups of students were involved in an experiment. Students from the first group would take both aging courses and service-learning project, in comparison with students who received education on aging without the service-learning project (Sugar et al., 2016). The third group would not attend any courses and projects with an additional group of older adults who were involved in the service-learning project (Sugar et al., 2016). The results showed that service-learning project, an intergenerational interaction, was successful in educating ageism to students. It had also been proved that service learning is an appropriate way to educate people on ageism to encourage social change in North American community.

Service learning (Positive Interact)

Additionally, service-learning project is similar to the Positive Contact in PEACE (Positive Education about Aging and Contact Experiences) Model (Lytle et al., 2017). The author Levy first tested PEACE model and created an experiment with 505 community participants which the majority (76.7%) of them who were from North America in order to examine the key factors on reducing ageism. Extended contact means having a positive relationship with older relatives. A study found that people have more extended contact illustrated more positive thoughts about older people (Drury, Hutchison & Abrams, 2016). The results of Levy’s experiment on PEACE Model showed that ageism would be reduced by extended interaction in a positive intergeneration way, as well as in-person contact with older adults positively (Drury et al., 2016), showing that extended contact can be the beginning of improving attitude to older people.

Combine education and positive interaction

Combining education and positive contact is more likely to be a more effective method to reduce ageism (Levy, 2016). Levy’s further experiment based on PEACE Model (Lytle et al., 2017) showed that the combined method did not behavior a more effective way than either education only or contact only. Nevertheless, although it didn’t show a better advantage in lessoning ageism, education on ageism and service learning (extended contact) should be separated into two completely different methods since it works differently, and the effects are various. The combined method would not more effective, but it is comprehensive in reducing ageism. Although combining education and social service learning will not be more effective than each of them, it shows that learning the knowledge about aging and apply them into practical social activities will make the process of lessoning ageism more comprehensive (Sugar et al., 2016).

Discussion & Implication

Ageism is one of the common, serious and worldwide societal problems which lacks public concern and formal schooling about aging. Education is one of the key factors to reduce ageism since it provided knowledge about aging. Social service learning is another effective method to lesson ageism because it is practical for people to positively interact with older people and easily break down the aging stereotype. Additionally, combining education and interaction method is the most comprehensive reduction towards ageism. Ageism is not merely a problem of North America. Raising the awareness of the public about reducing ageism among the world is the first priority, and the government should be aware of this kind of societal problem immediately.

Reference

1. Ageism. (2019). Retrieved 18 August 2019, from https://www.who.int/ageing/ageism/en/
2. Robbins, L. (2019). The Pernicious Problem of Ageism | American Society on Aging. Retrieved 18 August 2019, from https://www.asaging.org/blog/pernicious-problem-ageism
3. Lytle, A., & Levy, S. (2017). Reducing Ageism: Education About Aging and Extended Contact With Older Adults. The Gerontologist, 59(3), 580-588. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnx177
4. Sugar, J., Haslem, H., Skaar, T., Brancamp, T., & Harris, S. (2017). REDUCING AGEISM THROUGH INTERGENERATIONAL SERVICE LEARNING. Innovation In Aging, 1(suppl_1), 826-826. doi: 10.1093/geroni/igx004.2978
5. Levy, S. (2016). Toward Reducing Ageism: PEACE (Positive Education about Aging and Contact Experiences) Model. The Gerontologist, 58(2), gnw116. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnw116
6. Drury, L., Hutchison, P., & Abrams, D. (2016). Direct and extended intergenerational contact and young people’s attitudes towards older adults. The British Journal of Social Psychology, 55, 522–543. doi:10.1111/bjso.12146

“Ageism exists in the workplace when employees over 50 are passed over for promotions, career opportunities and training and where social committees and workplace lunch ‘n’ learns focus their attention on the needs and wants of younger workers (Jaworski, 2019)” Ageism is highly prevalent in many cultures in this generation as the elderly are seen to be less productive than the younger generation. This in turn, grants biasness towards the younger generation. According to “Jathan Janove, (2019) today’s older workers are better educated and living longer than any previous generation. They also want to remain in the workforce longer, but discrimination and outdated assumptions are making that a tricky proposition for many experienced employees, and overt acts of ageism are only expected to get worse as the number of older workers grows.”

In the article, “Attitudes and HRM decisions toward older workers in Africa: exploring contradictions through an empirical study” ageism geared towards discrimination against elderly individuals in Africa were investigated, and compared to the discrimination of elderly in Portugal from managers. While this article produced significant results that showed the biasness towards younger individuals in a highly under-researched continent, there were few limitations with respect to replicability, sample and opens up the topic of “does colonization play a greater role in biasness?”

“Rego, A., Vitória, A., Ribeiro, T., Ribeiro, L., Lourenço-Gil, R., Leal, S. and Cunha, M., (2020) explored the attitudes toward older workers of African versus Portuguese managers, and how these managers make HRM decisions in scenarios involving younger versus older workers.” To do so, they collected robust data by using four samples of individuals grouping in category of African managers, Portuguese managers, African students and Portuguese students. Sample size were one hundred and fifty-four (154) African managers, one hundred and thirty-four (134) Portuguese managers, one hundred and eight (108) African students and one hundred and thirty-eight (138) Portuguese students. The participants were selected at random based on demographic data such as ethnicity and employment/education. The data collected for the experimented were obtained through anonymous questionnaires and tallied statistically with standardized solutions using a confirmatory factor analysis. Originally supposed to be a five-factor model but downgraded to a three-factor model due to low reliability with categories of “conscientiousness and performance,” “social capital and generosity” and “adaptability.” With the achieved results, it was found that although African individuals showed more positive attitudes toward older workers than did the Portuguese, they made more discriminatory decisions in the Human Resource Management scenarios.

In the introduction section of this article, the idea and purpose were stated clearly and direct. The idea was to see how ageism is handled in the Human Resource Management in Africa, while exploring the contradictions with its culture. The title of this article displayed the intent while grasping more attention. The first half explored the definitions of the various terminology that would be seen further while bringing in literature to support the reasoning and purpose of this article. For instance, the authors cite Zoogah et al, (2015) who claimed that Africa is very under-researched. In another instance, the authors cited Mangaliso, (2001) that states elderly in Africa are respected members of the community and this duality is the source of the contradictions that is further explored. However, there was no direct hypothesis or theory stated to show what was expected of this experiment. A hypothesis is used in an experiment to define the relationship between two variables and answers the question that was asked. While the intent is clear, the question was not.

In the literature review, while this article was written in the year of 2020, had many references that would seem to be outdated. “A research study is considered to be outdated when it is over three years old due to market/economic and consumer behavior variations, demographic changes, and alterations to the product (When Is a Study Considered to be Outdated? 2020)”

This article focused heavily on the attitude towards elderly individuals in Africa while using the comparison of a western country such as Portugal. This is highly important as it opens up Africa to be further researched as Zoogah et al., (2015) stated that Africa has been “off radar” with respect to researchers. Furthermore, it discusses an issue that rampages through cultures and countries across the globe with increasing numbers. Rego et al., (2020) shared results that not only showed that ageism is prevalent, but it is also prevalent in countries such as Africa whose culture is to respect the elderly. “In traditional African cultures, older persons are to be respected and are encouraged to actively participate in the affairs of their communities (Mangaliso, 2001)” However, the study did not adequately portray this for reasons such as sample size were not similar, the groups were not as diverse and majority of the Africans received their education from Portugal. Furthermore, it opens up to interpretation, “does colonization play an important role in this result?” This ineptness would make it difficult to replicate their program to further expand but instead would now have to redo to grant ability for expansion.

While significant results were displayed in the findings section, there are limitations to these findings. First, the sample sizes were not similar. In each sample, African managers, Portuguese managers, African students and Portuguese students there was a different number, being 154, 134, 108 and 138 respectively. As stated by Rego et al., (2020) in the first paragraph in the method, the participants were gathered by contacts on the first four authors’ contacts and students who were in their class. This is known as a convenience sample which led to an undercoverage bias. “Undercoverage occurs when some members of the population are inadequately represented in the sample (Survey Sampling Bias, 2020)” With the differences amongst the sample sizes, there is a misrepresentation of each population and thus can skew the results in favor of another. In doing so, African managers being majority in number can be skewed to either be greater or lesser in some calculations thus misrepresenting the true statistic. While the authors did state there are limitations due to biasness as the sample size cannot represent the country entirely, they failed to mention that the difference in sample sizes can skew results.

Furthermore, convenience sampling is also known as non-probability technique that leads to many biases as it is choosing whoever is readily available and making limited exceptions with who can be a participant. For example, all the student participants were attending Portuguese based universities. Among the African students selected for this test, due to exceptions being made as a result of convenience sampling, not every African student may be from Africa as some can be born and raised in Portugal.

In the experiment while the main focus was on the two ethnicities, the participants did not show much diversity with respect to age. According to Rego et al., (2020) pg. 22 line 5, the age of the managers was less than forty for both African and Portuguese managers, while the age of the students was not disclosed. Wright, 1985 stated that “age has a progressive effect on moral values among public relations practitioners, particularly in areas such as basic morality and basic honesty.” With respect to the experiment, varying of ages is important to obtain a more accurate measurement of the population as the ages used only represents a certain percentage of the population’s demographic. In doing so, outcomes to another misrepresentation of the results as the participants’ decision and actions can be relatively similar as a result of nearness of age.

The area of which one gains their education can greatly change their perspective. Rego et al., (2020) pg.22 line 18, indicated that almost all African managers studied in Portuguese universities. By studying in their universities, cultural change can occur. In the western regions, elderly individuals are not given the same high levels of respect as seen in the African culture. In bringing about that cultural change, Africa managers can adapt their newfound knowledge and change and apply it to their workplaces. Even more so, majority of the participants were male. Gender plays a role in ageism! In the findings section of the article, upon calculating results for scenario four, which plots an elderly woman against a young man with the same qualifications, it was seen that discrimination was not higher if the individual was female. This was not an accurate result as this is only tested once and the gender was not swapped.

The final critique of the method is the inclusion of Portugal. It is stated by Rego et al., (2020) pg.4 line 7-8, that Portugal was a colonizer of Africa and indicated that may cause a change in expected results, hence why they included Portugal into the experiment. In this instance, a country with similar culture to Africa that was not colonized by Portugal needs to be added in the experiment to act as a control to limit the effect of other variables, such as colonization having an impact on the culture of ageism.

In the findings of Rego et al., (2020), there were many statistical results that were displayed to show the difference in numbers for each factor in the Three-Model Factor created. However, every result was introduced as a table of words and numbers. “Tables and graphs are visual representations. They are used to organize information to show patterns and relationships. A graph shows this information by representing it as a shape. Researchers and scientists often use tables and graphs to report findings from their research (Joyce, Neill, Watson and Fisher, 2008)” The purpose of a graph is to present data that are too numerous or complicated to be described adequately in the text. In analyzing quantitative data, a graph is always needed to display the relationship appropriately and with ease.

While there were many corrections to method and findings, the discussion session of this article was well written. The data analysis was clearly described and structured. Although well written and explanatory, backing research used in some areas were taken out of context. For example, Rego et al., 2020 pg. 19 line 7-9 claims that transactional and autocratic leadership are more prevalent in Africa thus resulting in their inability to distinguish between in-role and extra-role performance, using Jallow,(2014). However, Jallow, (2014) was not a paper of measurement on what type of leadership is seen in Africa, but how scholars such as James Macgregor Burn wrote their articles based on western culture and addressed it to all human condition. It also states, that Africa can gain theoretical benefits of understanding organizations but it does not give an abundance number of what leadership style is commonly seen.

Continuing, the rest of the discussion is precise and explains further to support their points. One of the main purposes for this article was to show the contradiction based on the duality of Africans in terms of personal culture and business culture. As observed by the authors, the African participants while have more positive attitudes toward elderly workers, discriminate against them more. This paradox supports their contradiction theory and it was attributed to western teachings, theories and approaches brought on by colonial ideology and capitalist modes of production which was observed in Khan & Ackers, (2004).

The purpose of this article is to highlight the prevalent issue of ageism in Human Resource Management in Sub-Saharan Africa. This article, while not without errors and corrections, has done a good job in highlighting the ageism not just in Sub-Saharan Africa but within Portugal as well. The theme of this article can be that of Comparative Human Resource Management. “Comparative HRM, on the other hand, is a systematic method of investigation that seeks to explain the patterns and variations encountered in cross-national HRM rather than simply describe HRM institutions and practices in different societies. (Difference between international and comparative HRM, 2018)” Comparative Human Resource Management exist due to differences in specific historical, cultural and institutional heritage in certain countries. Comparative differences occur due to decisive historical events such as the process of industrialization or due to the legacy of pre-modern forms of social organization. In terms of this experiment, the human resource management issue of ageism was compared between Sub-Saharan Africa and Portugal. Both countries vary in history and heritage with similar culture, but show differences in handling the situation.

The issue of ageism in the labor market from Human Resource Management can be seen in recruitment/retention, performance, training and interaction with older colleagues. These are vital in success of any business and subject to change in many cultures thus having different strategies in human resource management. While this article is a clear example of this, it should have been highlighted and stated clearly to further help understand the need for the experiment in understanding cultural differences and how the different cultures handle ageism.

References

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Discrimination of the elderly or, ageism, is defined as a form of discrimination which is based on an individual’s age (Hitchings & Day, 2011). The advance in age, the reduction in independence and the limitations in social participation affect society’s views and approaches towards elderly individuals. Due to such attitudes, the elderly are frequently stereotyped and subjected to positive or negative prejudice (Cinar et al., 2018). Ageism and age discrimination may manifest themselves differently in various social, economic, work, health care and cultural contexts but remain widespread, often unrecognized and accepted by the public (Cinar et al., 2018).

Stereotypes

Age is considered one of the principal social categories. Therefore, social categorizations based on age are quick and automatic (Brewer & Lui, 1989). Physical attributes such as grey or whitened hair, wrinkled skin, balding, dentures, movement variables and slouched posture all identify elderly people. They are often labelled as senior citizens, elders, seniors, old people, and the elderly (Karel et al., 2012).

As stated by Brewer et al. (1981), society holds stereotypes of subgroups of the elderly rather than a one-size-fits-all stereotype. Schmidt & Boland (1986) reveal that older individuals had more diverse and different stereotypes of elderly whilst younger people had relatively straightforward stereotypes of old people. A study by Hummert et al. (1994) showed that older individuals viewed the stereotypes as less representative of elderly adults than the young participants. However both age groups agreed on the stereotypical images seen in the elderly population. Results also showed that both older and juvenile respondents tended to link negative stereotypes with old age ranges. Combining the two studies by Schmidt and Boland (1986) and Hummert et al. (1994) together, seven typical stereotypes of elderly citizens have become evident.

Healthy, productive, independent, knowledgeable

Age stereotypes are social constructs that are set historically and culturally and also, perceived individually (Dionigi, 2015). Moreover, social and cultural factors such as media, advertisements and television contribute to the portrayal of negative stereotypes of elderly people. Various geriatric meta-analyses show that the elderly are viewed as weak, self-centred, unattractive, worthless, senile, unsuccessful, ill, lonely, depressed and demanding (Fraser et al., 2016). Harwood et al. (1995), revealed that out of 490 leading and supporting characters featured in the 40 most popular television programmes in 1995, only 29 (4%) were older adults. Such results conclude that elderly individuals are underrepresented on television, particularly on shows directed towards younger viewers. Moreover, the featured older characters were predicted to be presented with a disability, an injury or an illness and are portrayed as dependent, unpleasant people with physical and mental limitations. Some positive qualities of older people in television programs include being viewed as mentors, high-profit investors, cherished grandparents and active retired people (Miller et al., 2004).

Old Age Prejudice

Moreover, age discrimination entails prejudicial and emotional reactions to elderly individuals that consequently depicts the ambivalent stereotypes perceived by society (Karel et al., 2012). A study by Fiske et al. (2002) found that the most common emotion felt about elderly people was pity due to possible acknowledged complications they experience such as deterioration of health as well as loss of opportunities. Other negative feelings include anxiety among young people due to the fear and the reminder that becoming old will happen to them eventually and that their youth and beauty will fade away in the future (Greenberg et al., 2002). Younger people may also feel anxiety and threat by the elderly due to the stereotype that older individuals are ill and feeble and thus may carry illnesses which are contagious (Bugental & Hehman, 2007).

Types of ageism

There are different types of categories of ageism. These include personal, institutional, cultural, intentional and unintentional (Sporre, 2019). Personal ageism may be described as practices, prejudicial ideas and attitudes of people that are biased against older people. Examples of this may include gerontophobia and gerontophilia. Institutional ageism refers to rules, missions, practices and policies that discriminate against the elderly most frequently found in workforce or employment. Cultural ageism is defined as social norms and values favouring one sub culture at the expense of the other (Chonody & Teater, 2017). Intentional ageism refers to attitudes, practices and ideas that are executed consciously which are biased against old individuals and take advantage of their vulnerabilities. An example of this are scam artists who take advantage of elderly people and also employers who do not hire older individuals due to their age (Sporre, 2019). Unintentional ageism refers to attitudes, practices and ideas that are carried out without the perpetrator being aware that they are biased against older people. This includes humour, cards and black balloons in birthday parties.

Age Discrimination and Health

As stated by WHO (2016), pessimistic attitudes towards aging and towards the elderly have significant consequences on their physical as well as mental health. Holding negative perceptions of aging may cause poor mental health and elderly people who feel that they are burden perceives their life to be less valuable, and thus are more likely to be diagnosed with depression and become socially isolated. Furthermore, the effects of widespread negative views towards elderly people may ultimately lead to a higher mortality risk, a decrease in functional health and slower recovery rates from illnesses (Burnes et al., 2019). Results from the study carried out by WHO revealed that people who hold negative views about their own aging process live approximately 7.5 years less than those individuals with a more positive attitude. Anxiety and alcohol abuse may also be other psychological effects caused by age discrimination (Vogt Yuan, 2007).

Another way in which ageism may result in poor health outcomes is by engaging in risky behaviours such as consuming alcohol, poor diet smoking and physical inactivity (Jackson et al., 2019). These behaviours may act as coping mechanisms whenever elderly people experience discrimination and may provide short-term comfort or relief from the psychological distress caused by age discrimination. Elderly people may avoid going to gyms due to this stigma and therefore acts as an obstacle to a healthy lifestyle.

Ageism also promotes exclusion of the elderly in society from their meaningful roles, relationships and functional occupations (Jackson et al., 2019). Age-based prejudices results in institutional norms that are held on stereotypical beliefs, limiting the engagement and participation of the elderly. Furthermore, discriminatory attitudes inhibit the development of appropriate health policies that may be advantageous and beneficial for older adults.

Discrimination in health-care and employment

Ageist attitudes among health care practitioners and professionals may lead to discriminatory events that place elderly adults at a greater risk in their health (Jackson et al., 2019). Such age-related discriminatory actions can be observed in the way clinical workers communicate with elderly patients as well as in the quality of care the older patients receive when compared to younger and more juvenile patients. In a study by Greene et al. (1986), it was revealed that widespread negative attitudes towards old patients were evident among nurses, medical students and also physicians which may cause severe consequences such as creating false assumptions, misinformation and exclusion from clinical trials. Mental health practitioners also assumed that depression and other mental illnesses were considered as “normal” for their old age and restricted access to treatments.

Older patients diagnosed with cancer and other chronic conditions such as pulmonary disease or diabetes were also less likely to receive treatment when compared to younger patients with the exact same or similar illnesses and conditions (Jackson et al., 2019). This is due to the fact that health professionals highlight more importance to treating younger patients first. Studies have also proven that facilities designed for the elderly are more likely to be of basic standards and more likely to be understaffed (Levy et al., 2002). Younger patients are also predicted to be more inclined to receive aggressive treatment in ICU and screenings for cancers such as breast cancer are targeted more for younger individuals even though elderly women may also have the risk. Medication is also tested on younger individuals therefore may cause different side effects for senior citizens. Thus, discrimination of older people among health care professionals have a substantial impact on the quality of care that older patients receive which in turn may result to poor health outcomes (Wyman et al., 2018).

Ageism can also be difficult for elderly people in the workplace. Older workers are often believed to have a lack of mental capacities and physical skills (Karel et al., 2012). Many companies in fact have mandatory retirement ages so as to push people into retirement regardless of their capability to pursue their career. Even though older workers are often assumed to be difficult to train and being physically incapable, younger individuals despite their lack of experience are still given more preference when in need of hiring new employees (Morgeson et al., 2008). As a result of this, older people struggle to apply for jobs and spend much longer applying to get an interview.

In conclusion, discrimination of the elderly leads to many negative consequences for elderly people such as poor health, decrease in quality of life, unemployment, physical and psychological effects. Developing effective interventions to reduce ageism and discrimination should therefore be a priority when working in healthcare settings to promote positive health behaviours, wellbeing and ensure an increased quality of life for all patients.

References

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