AGE DISCRIMINATION

Age Discrimination

Age Discrimination

Introduction

Ageism, defined as discriminatory beliefs, attitudes, and practices regarding older adults, is pervasive in modern American society. A majority of older adults report experiencing one or more instances of age-based discrimination during their careers. A meta-analysis by Kite and colleagues, comparing attitudes toward older and younger adults, documents significant age-bias regarding elders' competence, attractiveness, and behavioral intentions. Pernicious stereotypes of older workers as senile, slow, unproductive, frail, and unable to “learn new tricks” are widespread and intractable found that employers are hesitant to hire older workers because they believe them to be difficult to train, resistant to change, and less flexible and adaptable than younger workers. A study of hiring practices comparing employer responses to two equally qualified resumes—one identified as 57 years old and the other as 32 years old—found that older workers received less favorable feedback 27% of the time (Bennett, 2004).

Discussion and Analysis

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) of 1967 was part of an unprecedented turn in 1960s public policy toward advancing economic and social justice by protecting the rights of vulnerable populations. However, in many ways, the ADEA has been ineffective in supporting the civil and economic rights of older workers. Over 42 years since passage of the ADEA, ageism and age discrimination in the workplace remain serious impediments to employment and financial well-being in later life. Each year, an estimated 15 - 20,000 reports of age discrimination are filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC, 2009), which currently enforces compliance with the ADEA. The number of complaints, widely held to underestimate the extent of actual incidents (International Longevity Center [ILC], 2006), has risen over the past ten years, reaching an all time high of over 24,500 reports in 2008 (EEOC, 2009). Negative societal stereotypes about older adults are still prevalent and most elders report experiencing or witnessing instances of age-based discrimination (ILC, 2006).

A related study in which pairs of identical but age-disparate participants applied for vacant positions via phone, letters, and interviews found that the older applicant received less favorable responses 41% of the time. In an analysis of how women aged 35, 45, 50, 55, and 62 fared in the labor markets of Boston, MA and St. Petersburg, FL between 2002 and 2003, Lahe found that younger applicants needed to respond to an average of 19 ads in order to earn an interview, while the older applicants needed to respond to 27. Younger workers were also 40% more likely to be called back for an interview than their older counterparts. Disparities in hiring are particularly difficult for older adults who have been laid off or who seek employment after retirement.

In 2008, unemployed workers age 45 and older spent an average of 22 weeks looking for work, compared to 16 weeks among workers aged 44 and younger (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2009). According to a U.S. Department of Labor (2006) survey of workers displaced between 2003 and 2005, 75% of workers aged 25-54 were reemployed by 2006, compared to ...