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Introduction

We live in an age-conscious society. Newspapers often include the age of individuals in stories even where it is irrelevant. Few of us totally ignore our birthdays or those of close friends and relatives.

We also live in a society which is highly conscious of age difference. There are certain rights and restrictions which determine what individuals are allowed to do at different ages. For example, society defines the ages at which we can start school, drive, have sex, vote, marry, buy a house, retire, get a pension, travel by bus for free etc.

Moreover, we all have opinions, based on the idea of age difference, about what behaviours are appropriate at certain ages. These are called 'age norms'. They have a profound influence on our judgement and behaviour.

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Age Norms

Look at the list of behaviours below. Think about an age range you would assign for each behaviour:

  • Living alone
  • Getting married
  • Bringing up children
  • Being considered sexy
  • Driving a sports car
  • Having others make decisions for you
  • Wearing a short skirt and high heels
  • Displaying affection in public
  • Becoming pregnant
  • Receiving a heart transplant
  • Running a marathon
  • Becoming prime Minister
  • Becoming a university student
  • Retiring

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Age Norms

There are no right or wrong answers but you might want to ponder what factors influenced your judgements. Was it always age, or did gender play a part? Perhaps you thought, quite reasonably, that some of these items of behaviour could not be pinned appropriately to a single age or age range?

It could be interesting to compare your judgements with those of friends or colleagues, if you get the opportunity. What this exercise may have helped you recognise is that society is continuously making judgements - or differentiating - about what is deemed appropriate behaviour at a given age.

Age differentiation is not necessarily discriminatory in a negative sense. Differential treatment may be based on actual evidence of age-related differences which would justify it - for example, legislation to protect vulnerable children.

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Recognising discrimination

The following is a list of some of the areas of discrimination against older people. Read it through once, and then again only this time replacing age with race, gender, or sexuality, to see if discrimination on those grounds would be acceptable. If not, ask yourself, why should older people be treated differently?

  • Women over the age of 70 are not invited for breast cancer screenings (even though they would benefit)
  • Magistrates and jurors are not allowed to serve past the age of 70
  • People over 65 who become disabled are ineligible to apply for support for mobility and independent living available for younger people through the Disability Living Allowance and the Independent Living Fund
  • Around one in ten employers admit using age as a criterion in selecting recruits
  • 60% of men and 50% of women who leave work before State Pension Age do so against their wishes
  • One fifth of volunteering organisations admit using upper age limits
  • Most motor insurers will not quote for new customers over the age of 75

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Discrimination in employment

Which of the following do you think received the largest amount of reports of discrimination?

  • Education
  • Social Services
  • Social Security
  • Transport
  • Citizenship
  • Employment
  • Health

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Discrimination in employment

By far the largest number of reports received concerned employment although they found evidence of discrimination in all these areas. They also invited reports from older people of their day-to-day experience of age discrimination.

  • People reported being:
  • refused redundancy payments
  • denied the same opportunities as younger people
  • bullied by colleagues
  • forced to retire before they were ready
  • rejected for employment on the basis of their age
  • compelled to take lower-paid, short-term, temporary or voluntary jobs

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Discrimination in employment

But discrimination at work takes many forms. Read through the 3 transcripts below about how people experienced other forms of employment related discrimination.

Barbara

‘In spite of my expertise and knowledge of the special scientific work done by the laboratory, and my reliability over the 15 years I have been in this position, I am being forced to retire [at 65]. It seems ironic that I am being replaced by someone who will have none of the knowledge unique to the position, purely because the County Council deem I am too old to carry on with a job I have been doing efficiently and successfully until my birthday.’

Barbara from Preston, Lancashire, adapted from Help the Aged, 2004

Ann

‘I was intending to work until 65, which is the retiring age at the company I worked for…I am a very young looking 61, with years of experience behind me. As soon as employers know how old you are, they don’t want to know. The jobs I had interviews for, [six from 28 job applications] I didn’t put my age on the application form. When I told them, I had a letter in the post telling me I had been unsuccessful.’

Ann from St.Leonards on sea, East Sussex, adapted from Help the Aged, 2004

Helen

‘After 30 years as a secretary, I lost my job at the age of 53. I could not get another job. I had 50 job applications and only one interview. Yet when I sent a ‘doctored’ CV with same qualifications but a different age, I was asked for an interview. I am 57 now, have a disability and work as a volunteer secretary three days a week, which costs me £24. It is a joke!’

Helen, adapted from Help the Aged, 2004

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Discrimination in employment

There are many reports of age discrimination in employment. This may be because there is often an explicit age bar which is not the same in other areas – health care, for example - where discrimination can be more subtle or hidden, and may go unrecognised by its victims.

Age discrimination can have a very negative impact on mental health. Older people reported to Help the Aged instances of depression, frustration, feeling devalued or rejected, lost confidence, denigration and humiliation, as well being excluded and exploited.

You will be considering other aspects of age discrimination later in this learning object but next you can explore what underlies negative discrimination - the wider concept of ageism.