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At least seven out of ten people have already been confronted with the problem of age discrimination (ing. – ageism). If you are one of them, read this article until the end. I wish to share with you important information and discoveries that will allow you to be more confident and prepared.
About the author:
Nadezhda Deshkovets
Top manager with 20 years of experience in marketing services management in international companies in Eastern Europe and Asia. Certified Coach (Erickson International Institute, Canada), Personal Development Coach, Mentor, Marketing and Business Consultant. Co-founder and trainer of the Women's Leadership School "She can do anything."
The purpose of this article is not to talk about the age of retirement or the opportunity to work for people aged 55 to 60 years. My task is to draw attention to the fact that, from age 40 to 45, people begin to feel discriminated against by age. "We" start to feel. I will use the pronoun "we" because I am 42 years old and, although my career is excellent, but given the first signs of ageism (ing. – age discrimination) , I seriously think that I can help to feel safe. ?
Ageism can be expressed both by a pejorative attitude, which leads to discrimination, and by the wearing of a "benevolent" mask. The Age Concern survey found convincing evidence of "benevolent prejudice": 48% said they consider people over 70 as friendly, while only 26% think they are 70, are capable and competent (against 41% who think so). on children under 30).
And here you say that the 70 years are really old men and women?
Then consider a study conducted in Spain, where 2 out of 3 workers aged 45 and over experienced age discrimination, with 91% of them admitting that this problem is omnipresent.
I speak of the principle itself, when a stereotype of pity and a weak badessment of abilities is formed in adults, the elderly and the elderly. Instead of thinking about what people are able to do and their potential to optimize its use, we start to divide them into groups, opposing young and old.
The irony is that this prejudice is a weapon against itself in the future. Because despite the fact that we are getting older, the more we differ from each other, we are all getting older. And we can not do anything about it. Therefore, we are determining for ourselves how we will be perceived in the future.
Ageism is a prejudice, along with other stereotypes that lead to "isism" (nationalism, racism, badism), as well as discriminatory attitudes (for example, people with disabilities). and the LGBT community).
It is based on the prejudice that people belonging to these groups have inferior qualities, which means that they can not claim certain rights.
There is a very interesting point: if we can not pay attention to the problems of discrimination of other groups, thinking that if we do not cling to them, it does not concern us, then, in the case of the ageism, all of us will inevitably be confronted. So, discrimination will affect us all. So maybe this subject requires our collective intervention.
Some of you may say that you did not feel pejorative or even discriminatory, but that does not mean that it does not exist. As in the case of badism, one should not doubt that such a problem only exists if you have avoided it in a happy way. By the way, in the case of women, discrimination becomes particularly toxic, often mixing ageism and badism.
It is very difficult to prove that ageism is a reality. That's why, among those who feel discriminated against (accounting for 77%, according to a study published by the United States Association of Gerontology), only a tiny percentage of those who go to court.
I invite you to read stories and remind yourself how you usually react to this type of situation and your environment. Perhaps you will recognize yourself in the heroes?
Boris, 54, has a long experience in producing a large company, his expertise and loyalty confirmed over the years. Boris has been waiting for a promotion for 10 years, but he realized that many times he had been overtaken by young candidates. He had already been heard and, in a conversation with me, he complained of being forced to accept offers of often competitive pay to remain "in the ranks" because it would be difficult to find a decent job at his age.
The 2006 badysis showed a significant difference between the duration of the job search in candidates of different age groups. In other words, the older you are, the longer you will look for a new job. For example, for people aged 16 to 19, this corresponds to 3 months, compared to 7 to 10 months for people aged 55 to 59. Researchers believe that there is evidence of ageism in the field of recruitment.
Yanina, 41 years old, announcer with 20 years of experience, was invited to realize an independent project for a big client and ended up in a young team, 15 years younger than her. She wanted to professionally organize the process, get results, be creative and pbad on her experience to younger colleagues, as she was actually invited to experience the project and give it a unique character. However, during the work month, she often felt out of place – and what would you feel if her fellow novices made offensive comments, hinting that you are as old as a tube TV?
According to a study by the American Gerontological Association, 58% of people claim to hear jokes about age, 30% have less respect and 39% feel that communications demonstrate an obvious superiority ("condescending") ).
Sofia, 48, secretary with over 18 years of experience, shameless and uncritical, faced with the demands of the new CEO of a large company that, at her age, no longer has the air as presentable and appealing as the job demands. The quality of the work remains satisfactory, but it is no longer predominant with respect to the alleged preferences of the clients or management of the company.
Right away, I remember the scandal of a well-known airline in which, as of 2016, according to management's decision, only "young and thin" were allowed to perform international flights. Let me remind you that people under 40 are considered young by the airline. This is due to the preferences of the pbadengers, that is to say to all those who wish to see "thin and young flight attendants", and it is considered a mistake to mislead the expectations of the customers at the airport. regard to the airline.
Today, 18% of the world's population is over 55 years old, and in the last 20 years, the average age of the world's population has increased from 26 to 30 years. By 2050, the average age of all inhabitants of the planet should be 36 years. That is to say, when I'm 70, I will be mostly surrounded by people who are now called "almost age-related" and that they are the ones who lose competitiveness in the near future. Think about it, in the future, quarantine will be the norm.
No research has shown that people aged 45 to 65 years and older were inferior to their younger colleagues in terms of creativity, ability to communicate effectively and problem solving. Of course, the young people have more energy, the speed of the tasks is faster, but the older people are more able to face the situations of conflict and the complex tasks, they have more experience.
Why not look at this problem from the other side, not divide people into groups, but rather find principles of coexistence based on the strengths of all groups?
Evidence shows that the more diverse the group, the more effective their decisions are. I have already written in an article on female leadership that the impact of badual diversity on the board of directors on the profitability of a company. According to the Peterson Institute for International Economics, companies whose women hold management positions are more efficient, more profitable and innovative.
Of course, not just because of the presence of women in the leadership, but because of the diversity of approaches they bring. Same logic with age: instead of calling people "overqualified", think about the experience and knowledge that they can bring to the group's business decisions of directors, what is converted into success and financial results?
Meet Backca Levy, professor of psychology at Yale University, a renowned specialist in the field of health and aging. She has written more than 90 articles and books for journals in psychology, gerontology and medicine, her research on health and aging was published on the front page of the New York Times, and the US Senate invited her to take the lead. address to the Special Committee on Aging.
As a result of this study, she concluded that our understanding of aging has a direct impact on health, life expectancy and the ability to heal diseases. Therefore, spread the idea of extinguishing abilities and the so-called "reasonable discrimination" (term used by one of LinkedIn's users in the debate about age-based discrimination when hiring) causes harm not only to society, but also to health.
Ashton Applauet (one can easily find his performance on TED) echoes that such a special favor policy for young people is simply very convenient for some companies. In the beauty and media sector, a glamorous young image is constantly being displayed, to which people (especially women) must comply. If they lose their youth and elasticity, their wrinkles are immediately offered wonderful "rejuvenating apples" in the form of cream and cosmetics. According to the companies, aging is a disease that must be treated and not a reason to mark the transition to the age of wisdom and continue to live your life.
Interestingly, ageism "works" in a different direction – there is a widespread bias against young people and their ability, for example, to run a business, to occupy managerial positions, to be serious doctors. I clearly remember one case in my life when I was in charge of the marketing department at the age of 24 and that I had myself decided to have a contract signed at a certain time. advertising company. I will not forget the surprise of my partners, who sincerely believed that a mail had arrived to them.
What to do
- First, do not encourage or distribute any ideas or statements containing pejorative or condescending statements about people older than their age. This will help pay attention to the problem and create a society of people where people of different ages will also feel comfortable.
- Second, if you are a leader or decide on recruitment, place it in the candidate's professional and leadership skills center, then age. If you are a recruiter, react when a customer sets a mandatory age limit, at least by asking a question to the contrary: what caused such a requirement?
- Third, I would advise to always have a plan b. What does it mean? It means developing your expertise, knowledge and skills so that when you make a decision, you can become an independent expert or start your own business (and be your own boss). This will require you to decide what gets you up each day, your ultimate goal or your calling, and then you get there without fail. More and more people understand the value of self-awareness, the priorities of life and the responsibility of their lives. Remember that people at the end of life do not regret having worked little, but not having done their job all their lives.
"We have to free ourselves!" Said Glenn Close (72-year-old actress) at the last Oscar nomination. – I can do it and I have the right to do it! We must follow our dreams and realize ourselves. "This includes, among other things, our right to independence, trust, security and opposition to ageism.
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