Ageism and Youth
Ageism is real and it doesn't just apply to the elderly. If I had a quarter for every time I was passed over or underestimated because I'm young...I'd have a lot of quarters. It doesn't matter that I'm in my mid-twenties, people still treat me like I'm fresh out of college and it's annoying.
Ageism rears it's head in the workplace in a variety of ways that can range from your ideas being dismissed in meetings to being paid considerably less than the average employee.
What many people fail to realize is that "the youngins" have a lot of advantages on their side. They are bright eyed, fresh, trained on the latest trends, malleable (not yet set in unmovable habits), creative and hard working. Perhaps that is why we (20-29 year olds) are pushed down by corporate America - because the higher-ups are threatened by us. After all, the young employees are the new blood who will take over some day. And in an effort to combat feelings of obsoleteness, those who are in positions of power are always finding ways to pass up the young.
What is wrong with the work structure in this country? A lot. Women are still paid less than men, the youth and the elderly are ignored/fired/paid less/not hired, corruption is rampant and big business is as heartless as ever. So what are you doing to change things? Are you paying women as much as men? Are you listening to the ideas that the 25 year old has, or are you calling him "kid" and slapping him on the back. Would you like it if he slapped you on the back and called you "gramps?" Are you seriously considering hiring the seventy year old who desperately needs the job and has all the skills to do it?
"Furthermore, age-related discrimination among women exhibits complex patterns that may reflect the ‘double jeopardy’ of age and gender. In their local authority case studies, Itzin and Phillipson found that, whatever their age, women perceived their age to be held against them, and that line management attitudes revealed in interviews were consistent with the view that ‘women are never the right age’." - DUNCAN
There's a lot that needs fixed in our society and no one seems to want to do the work to fix it. As an advocate for the elderly, I'm just as concerned about ageism in the opposite direction. (SagePub) But ageism against youth is what I am currently experiencing.
No one prepares you for this when you come out of college. No one says, "hey...you're young, don't expect to get a normal salary. Prepare yourself for all of the stupid kid nicknames they give you. Don't expect to be taken seriously for the next ten years. If you were prettier, or looked older, you'd be treated better. Get ready to work harder than anyone else and have no one notice. Basically...prepared to get screwed."
Maybe it's time that people wake up to this issue.
Think twice before you dismiss the ideas of your younger employees, because someday, they will be the ones running things and they won't forget how you treated them. What goes around comes around.
"Ageism can be intentional, meaning a deliberate process of thought and action to stereotype based on age. More commonly, it is inadvertent, when people unconsciously attribute certain characteristics to a person because of his or her age. In daily social interactions, ageism typically occurs without much notice or concern. To understand ageism, one must first understand the process of stereotyping."
- Encyclopedia
For more information, check out these resources:
Ageism - Changing Aging
Young and older people experience age discrimination at work - The Guardian
Ageism rears it's head in the workplace in a variety of ways that can range from your ideas being dismissed in meetings to being paid considerably less than the average employee.
What many people fail to realize is that "the youngins" have a lot of advantages on their side. They are bright eyed, fresh, trained on the latest trends, malleable (not yet set in unmovable habits), creative and hard working. Perhaps that is why we (20-29 year olds) are pushed down by corporate America - because the higher-ups are threatened by us. After all, the young employees are the new blood who will take over some day. And in an effort to combat feelings of obsoleteness, those who are in positions of power are always finding ways to pass up the young.
What is wrong with the work structure in this country? A lot. Women are still paid less than men, the youth and the elderly are ignored/fired/paid less/not hired, corruption is rampant and big business is as heartless as ever. So what are you doing to change things? Are you paying women as much as men? Are you listening to the ideas that the 25 year old has, or are you calling him "kid" and slapping him on the back. Would you like it if he slapped you on the back and called you "gramps?" Are you seriously considering hiring the seventy year old who desperately needs the job and has all the skills to do it?
"Furthermore, age-related discrimination among women exhibits complex patterns that may reflect the ‘double jeopardy’ of age and gender. In their local authority case studies, Itzin and Phillipson found that, whatever their age, women perceived their age to be held against them, and that line management attitudes revealed in interviews were consistent with the view that ‘women are never the right age’." - DUNCAN
There's a lot that needs fixed in our society and no one seems to want to do the work to fix it. As an advocate for the elderly, I'm just as concerned about ageism in the opposite direction. (SagePub) But ageism against youth is what I am currently experiencing.
"If nothing else, this is clear: For every step we take to fight ageism against Elders,
we need to take an equivalent one for youth." - Lara Beck
No one prepares you for this when you come out of college. No one says, "hey...you're young, don't expect to get a normal salary. Prepare yourself for all of the stupid kid nicknames they give you. Don't expect to be taken seriously for the next ten years. If you were prettier, or looked older, you'd be treated better. Get ready to work harder than anyone else and have no one notice. Basically...prepared to get screwed."
Maybe it's time that people wake up to this issue.
Think twice before you dismiss the ideas of your younger employees, because someday, they will be the ones running things and they won't forget how you treated them. What goes around comes around.
"Ageism can be intentional, meaning a deliberate process of thought and action to stereotype based on age. More commonly, it is inadvertent, when people unconsciously attribute certain characteristics to a person because of his or her age. In daily social interactions, ageism typically occurs without much notice or concern. To understand ageism, one must first understand the process of stereotyping."
- Encyclopedia
For more information, check out these resources:
Ageism - Changing Aging
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