Fighting Ageism….and Losing

Serious bummer. According to an article in the Washington Post, the fight against ageism is a losing battle. Baby Boomers are Taking on Ageism—and Losing starts with the challenges that boomers face in the workplace: continuing in their jobs supervised by younger folks, or returning to the work force. This quote gave me pause: “At a time when conditions have vastly improved for women, gay people, disabled people and minorities in the workplace, prejudice against older workers remains among the most acceptable and pervasive “isms.” And it’s not clear that the next generations — ascendant Gen Xers and millennials — will be treated any better.”   Thus, we all should be concerned about ageism.

Ageism, not a new phenomenon, is explored from several angles in this article. 

That bias [for young] is so common we frequently don’t recognize it. Todd Nelson, a psychology professor at California State University at Stanislaus, has singled out birthday cards for portraying advancing age as something to be ashamed of, with a tone that would never be used with race or religion. (“ ‘Ha-ha-ha, too bad you’re Jewish’ … wouldn’t go over so well,” he noted.)

Internet memes like the “Scumbag Baby Boomer” and “Old Economy Steve,” which lambast boomers for transgressions from failing to adopt technology to causing the wars and recessions that millennials have weathered, channel resentment against an entire category of people in ways that might not be tolerated if they were members of another protected class.

As a big believer in life-long learning, I was concerned that there are those who have mindsets regarding the talents of those who are older.  “In a 2015 survey by the Harris Poll, for example, 65 percent of boomers rated themselves as being the “best problem-solvers/troubleshooters,” and only 5 percent of millennials agreed. Fifty-four percent of millennials thought boomers were the “biggest roadblocks.” Sometimes these perceptions come straight from the top: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg once said ‘young people are just smarter.'”

After looking at the laws that protect against age discrimination, the article examines some of the causes of ageism and efforts to thwart it.  This article could be the foundation for a great discussion during the first week of your class. Check it out!