"Ageism in Reverse"?


In spite of the fact that the headline irks me(there is no such thing as "reverse discrimination", in any event youth suffer far more ageism than seniors), this is a good article. What are your thoughts?
http://jobs.guardian.co.uk/officehou...936111,00.html


Ageism in reverse

It's not only older workers who are discriminated against. A new survey reveals that young employees suffer too, says Kate Hilpern

Monday April 14, 2003
The Guardian

The TUC is calling for a minimum youth wage to boost the income of thousands of young workers. Currently, the national minimum wage doesn't kick in until employees are 18. "A government report from two years ago said that the days of employers paying workers £1 or £2 an hour are gone," says TUC general secretary Brendan Barber. "But there are reports of 16- and 17-year-olds being exploited in this way, and without an enforceable minimum wage they have nowhere to turn."

The move is one of a series of attempts to tackle "youth ageism" - with under-25s being its latest victims, according to organisations such as the Employers Forum on Age (EFA) and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). Not only does this age group claim their youth can detrimentally affect their salaries, but it can also hold them back in the selection process and act as a block to them climbing the career ladder.

"Our latest survey found that more than half of under-25s say they have been discriminated against on the basis of their age," says Dianah Worman, policy adviser at the CIPD. Among the most common experiences cited were being discouraged from applying for a job because the advert indirectly indicated age restriction and suffering from age discrimination during a job interview.

Other recent reports have found that many job seekers have been told explicitly by a recruitment agency or employer that they are "too young" for a job, despite having the right qualifications.

Meanwhile, other respondents claim they have had to leave their current employer in order for their ideas to be taken seriously or to get promoted. "The chief reason for age discrimination against the young is the stereotype that they are inexperienced and lack responsibility and dependability," says Worman. "Coupled with the fact that we live in a climate where there is growing pressure on managers to find someone who can do exactly what they want right now - as opposed to recruiting the talent for tomorrow - youth ageism is becoming rife."

In the past there has been considerable focus on training and nurturing new employees, with the hope that they will stay loyal and committed to the employer for years to come. "In fact, I would say that organisations are still able to talk a good story about wanting to develop people," says Hazel Bunston, service development director for Penna Careers Consulting. "But the cost of recruiting, and the fact that most companies have been stripped pretty lean, means they tend to buy in proven - rather than potential - talent."

A further problem is what Bunston refers to as the "apprenticeship syndrome". "It's incredibly difficult for people who join an organisation as a trainee of any kind to ever be seen by colleagues as anything other than the person they were when they joined. So if you join as Sue, the 16-year-old trainee accountant, and five years later you are a fully fledged accountant, there's a good chance you'll still be seen as Sue, the trainee. For many people, this means they have to join another organisation to be recognised as a 21-year-old with significant experience and skills. The company that has invested five years of training in Sue, only to find she's left because her career can't flourish within their organisation, is usually unwilling to then invest in someone else. It becomes a vicious circle."

Occupational psychologist Andrew Martin believes many companies simply don't want to recruit Generation Xers - those born in the 70s and 80s - because they are perceived as fickle. "This group saw the jobs of their parents' generation axed time and time again and many are determined to take charge of their own career development. They will work hard, but move on once they have learned what they can from an organisation. Many employers, understandably, don't want to invest in such people. Rather, they want workers who they feel will be loyal, committed and retainable."

According to the EFA, as the issue of ageism against older workers gains greater publicity, employers are less likely to stereotype them with myths such as being slow to learn. "But we have noticed that in turn they are becoming more willing to attach stereotypes to younger people - such as that they are disloyal and more interested in their social lives than work," says Samantha Mercer, the EFA's campaign director. "The result is that younger workers are currently fair game for ageism."

It doesn't help, she says, that more and more employers are demanding a certain number of years' experience for roles that actually don't need experience. "Anyone under 24 is unlikely to have five years' experience - which is what is often asked for - and are therefore being directly discriminated against."

The good news is that some employers - particularly those in the public sector - are waking up to the fact that they are employing an ageing workforce. Oxfordshire county council is among them. "We suddenly realised that only 13% of our workforce was under 30 and a mere 1% was under 21," says a spokeswoman. Among the changes the council made to widen the age profile was introducing work-experience placements, increasing the number of full-time posts and expanding training and career development.

Meanwhile, other companies are expanding IT and computing facilities, which tend to attract younger workers, as well as quirky perks such as "duvet days", pool tables and visiting hairdressers.



------------------
Alex Koroknay-Palicz
President & Executive Director
National Youth Rights Association
www.youthrights.org

Link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irCS2_27ytI&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_B7vneLvL8&feature=related


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj6q9PIRFuY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_XyFGFr29c&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oreClI54lM&feature=related


The above links are to some good YouTube videos dealing with Ageism. I really liked them and Hope you guys take the time to watch them!

A Different Outlook on Ageism

I found this article published on March 27, 2010 very interesting. Instead of dealing with ageism with the elder population this article is about a sophomore at the University of Connecticut who has filed an age discrimination claim with the university and U.S. Department of Education.

http://www.thetandd.com/articles/2010/03/27/features/14408480.txt

Opinion from the other side.

BBC is not just ageist against women, says John Simpson

World affairs editor says discrimination comes from top of the Corporation

By Arifa Akbar, Arts Correspondent

Tuesday, 23 March 2010

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John Simpson said 'in a big outfit like the BBC, right at the top or near the top, [there was] quite a lot of ageism'

TOBY MADDEN

John Simpson said 'in a big outfit like the BBC, right at the top or near the top, [there was] quite a lot of ageism'

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He once claimed to have liberated Kabul. Now, John Simpson is facing a different kind of war much closer to home: ageism at the BBC. Many female correspondents have railed against age discrimination and now it is the turn of the men. "There are not many of us left," said Simpson, the Corporation's 65-year-old world affairs editor. "We have mostly died out or retired. I'm certainly the oldest person in the BBC newsroom."

He told The Independent that "there should be older people going [to report from] abroad, and there should not be the pressure to give up reporting, after a given age". He added: "I don't see people, certainly reporting, at my sort of age. I don't think there should be rules against it. If they are up to the job [they should do it], but it is a very hard job, in television particularly, lugging lots of recording equipment around, carrying stuff; it's physically hard with long hours." Simpson said he had never been placed under pressure to take retirement and ageism had not affected him directly, but added that he felt there were judgements based around age at the Corporation and "in a big outfit like the BBC, right at the top or fairly near the top, quite a lot of ageism".

He cites one example, an incident in 2009, when he took an idea to BBC1 for a series entitled Top Dogs – a show featuring himself, Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, which the channel turned down. "I put forward a proposal with another two elderly characters, but I was told it 'didn't fit the audience profile of BBC1' [which meant] they didn't want old people on BBC1. The proposal was something that BBC2 took up."

Simpson is probably the most experienced BBC correspondent, having reported from more than 120 countries, including 30 war zones, and interviewed many world leaders, but he is acutely aware that he is in the minority among older journalists.

A survey shows that BBC1 has a lower proportion of older talent than its commercial rival ITV. At ITV1, 27 per cent of presenters and actors are aged at least 50 compared with 20 per cent on BBC1. The gap is bigger for men than for women. Twenty-two per cent of BBC1's male actors and presenters are over 50 compared to 29 per cent at ITV1. The figures for women over 50 are 18 per cent at BBC1 and 24 per cent at ITV1, research by Anchor, a residential care provider, has found.

On news and current affairs programmes, the lead is maintained, with 31 per cent of ITV1's presenters being 50 or more compared to 28 per cent at BBC1. But BBC2 had the most age-friendly mix of presenters and actors with 37 per cent being from the 50-plus group, more than any other broadcaster.

There were distinct advantages to nurturing a greyer newsroom, Simpson suggested, with greater experience and a sense of confidence among reporters who were prepared to stand behind the kind of investigative rigour he discusses in his latest book, Unreliable Sources.

"Everything I say is directed towards my own case but one thing you lose [with experience] is your sense of nervousness about saying things that will not be popular.

"If I go somewhere and don't get a story, I just come back and say I don't have a story. You don't feel you have to please people. [It's] a case for older journalists."

BBC faces 'ageism' claim

11:00am Sunday 28th March 2010

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THE BBC is facing calls to increase the number of older people in its programmes as new research reveals 17% of people in the South-West feel BBC1 portrays a negative image of older people.

The news came as the ‘Older Faces Audit’ revealed that only 20% of the presenters and actors on the BBC’s flagship channel are over 50, compared to 27% on its main commercial rival ITV1.

During the week-long observation of national terrestrial television, ITV1 also featured more over 50s on its news and current affairs programmes than BBC1 (31% vs. 28%).

The audit was commissioned by Anchor, England’s largest not-for-profit provider of housing and care for older people, to examine the age profile and depiction of older people on the five major terrestrial television channels.

BBC1 lost out in the battle of the soaps, with 26% of people in the South West saying ITV1 soap Coronation Soap treated older people positively, just ahead of the 25% of the region in favour of Eastenders’ depiction of older faces.

Anchor Chief Executive Jane Ashcroft is calling for a fairer representation of older people in the media. She said: “As a culture we dramatically undervalue the contribution older people make to society and this problem is perpetuated by the media’s fixation with youth.

“It is scandalous that the over 50s are not represented more fairly on television, particularly when they are the fastest growing demographic in this country.

“Rather than condemning older presenters and actors to the scrap heap, it is time for television executives to embrace the wealth of talent and experience they can offer.”

The ‘Older Faces Audit’ also examined the representation of older women on TV. Only one in five (20%) female presenters are over 50, compared to one in four (25%) of their male colleagues.

BBC stalwart David Attenborough was the media personality who most viewers in the South-West felt depicted a positive image of older people.

The Life on Earth presenter won 31% of the vote, ahead of challengers Sir Trevor McDonald (11%) and Bruce Forsyth (9%).

In response to the findings of the Audit, Anchor Chief Executive Jane Ashcroft will be writing to the BBC Trust and Chief Executive of ITV calling for greater representation of older people within the media.

The Older Faces Audit and further information about Anchor can be found at www.anchor.org.uk

Step II - How to Identify Ageists

1. The Pretenders - These are misguided older folks who believe that age is "all in your head".

2. The Discriminators - Some of their best friends are old, so how could they be ageist? However, they are quick to point out the realistic limitations of older applicants to jobs in their sphere of influence.

3. The Exceptionalists - These elders consider themselves the fortunate exceptions to society's negative view of old people. While they think of themselves as vigorous, productive and useful to society, they imagine most of their peers to be in bad shape, useless and boring.

4. The Colonists - This type is frequently found among politicians, and is not at all rare in the ageism establishment. They may easily be identified because they always preface any word for the ageing with the possessive pronoun, such as "OUR senior citizens" or "MY elderly".

5. The Patronizers - This garden variety is common found in senior programs. To them, the old are just delightful when in "their place" and, like children, should be catered to and played with.

Step III - (The Hardest Step to Accept) We are ALL ageist.

Whether we're young, middle-aged or old, whether we've taken courses in gerontology or not, whether we think we're immune or too well-meaning to be afflicted, we are all ageists.

We're ageist because the society we live in is permeated with ageism. We can no more escape it than we can the chemicals in our food-- or sexism or racism for that matter. But at least in the case of the other two social diseases, there's been some progress and some serious efforts to combat them.

Ageism, by comparison, has been analyzed very little and manifests itself in variations with hardly a challenge.

Step IV - What You Can Do to Help Stamp Out Ageism

1. Quit complimenting people on how young they look.

2. Promote intergenerational job sharing, part-time hours, and no hiring or retirement according to a plan based on chronological age.

3. Try not to blame old age for fatigue or disorganization or forgetfulness. In our youth, we blame poor planning, lack of sleep, and a bad memory.

4. Criticize your local news media when a headline or cartoon is offensive.

5. When selecting a birthday card, keep your sense of humor. Just learn the difference between laughing WITH rather than laughing AT.

http://www.graypanthersmetrodetroit.org/Ageism.html

Ageism in Hollywood

Too Old for Hollywood? Try Film Directing
By Zorianna Kit
March 2, 2010



LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Want to be an actor, but you are beyond your 20s. Perhaps a career as a screenwriter, but you heard about age discrimination. Try directing, filmmakers are having all the luck these days -- at any age.

"Shutter Island" from 67-year-old director Martin Scorsese, reigned atop U.S. box offices for the second straight week this past weekend. It dethroned former champ "Valentine's Day" from 75-year-old Garry Marshall, and 76-year-old Roman Polanski's "Ghost Whisperer" is performing well in art houses.

Some quick math on directors nominated for this week's Oscars shows an average age of 48, lowered significantly by the youngish Jason Reitman ("Up In the Air") at age 32.

It seems that if a director makes shrewd casting choices, works in a proven genre, stakes out a sure-fire release date or simply stays in the game long enough, they, like fine wine, get better with age.

"If you're making works that are relevant to today's audience, there is no ageism" in Hollywood, said Paul Dergarabedian, who tracks ticket sales for Hollywood.com.

Ageism has become a dirty word in entertainment in recent years because it seems today's big stars are teens and young adults like Miley Cyrus, 17, Zac Efron, 22 and the "Twilight" actors. Brad Pitt, 46 and Tom Cruise, 47 are just old men.

Late last month, TV writers, talent agents, studios and broadcasters announced a settlement in an age discrimination suit that called for businesses to pay $70 million to writers who believed they were denied jobs and promotions because they were telling stories too old to reach today's audiences.

Yet in a town seemingly always focused on new talent or the next young visionary, filmmakers old enough to be grandfathers are the ones tapping into what today's moviegoers want to see.

Thriller "Shutter Island," which teamed Leonardo DiCaprio and Scorsese, has earned $75 million in two weeks and "Valentine's Day" is at $100 million in three weeks.