How ageism is embezzling billions from the US economy

Discrimination

It was the proverbial adolescent eye-roll heard around the world:

“Okay, Boomer.”

While this young woman’s comment created one of the most memorable, publicized and memed examples of raw ageism to date, the event sadly made no positive movement in the fight against ageism. In fact, there were more pointless memes and social media name-calling that sprouted from her utterance than fruitful conversations around solving the complexities of intergenerational politics.

Just like most ageist incidents, “Okay, Boomer” was brushed under the rug, largely ignored despite its blatant prejudicial tone and stereotyping intentions.

Why is ageism ignored?

As our aging population grows, ageism is becoming increasingly rampant. For example, according to the most recent survey by AARP, nearly 80% of older employees now report age discrimination

Young Workers Face Reverse Ageism In The Workplace

Discrimination

Ageism in the workplace has been known to affect older workers. While the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) forbids age discrimination against people who are 40 and older, this is largely symbolic and only effective to instances of overt age discrimination.

58% of workers in their fifties report facing age discrimination of some sort, and of those who experience age discrimination, 95% report that it is a common occurrence at work.

However, ageism being a problem in the workplace is not exclusive to older professionals. Young professionals also experience forms of ageism in the workplace. Some media coverage of this problem has been referring to it as “reverse ageism.”

What is “reverse ageism?”
We typically think of older professionals when the term “ageism” is used. As of late, the term “reverse ageism” has been used to describe a similar set of concerns facing younger workers.

Signs That Age Equity Is Gaining Workplace Relevance (At Last)

Discrimination

While progress toward workplace age equity has been slow, this past year shows definite signs of improvement. As a result, there is an elevated awareness of workplace age bias and discrimination and the need for companies and organizations to address it.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) made it very clear: job postings conveying preference — for example, “recent graduate,” young,” “energetic,” are examples of a recruiting practice that may involve systemic age discrimination.

The update provided transparency by explaining the use of administrative and litigation tools used to identify and pursue systemic discriminatory practices.  

Older Workers Sue Eli Lilly for Age Discrimination

Discrimination

In a lawsuit filed in federal court, two midcareer workers allege drugmaker Eli Lilly discriminated against older job applicants in favor of hiring early career professionals and millennials instead. The litigation could become a nationwide class action lawsuit, which would open eligibility to many older applicants who were rejected in recent years.
According to the suit filed in a federal court in Indianapolis, newly appointed CEO David Ricks told Eli Lilly staffers in a company-wide conference call in April 2017 that he wanted workers who are millennials to be 40 percent of the company’s overall sales force by 2020. In some cases, the millennial hiring quota was later raised to 100 percent if lower thresholds were not being met, the lawsuit alleges.

“Eli Lilly believes younger applicants are better suited to be employed in a sales representative role,” the lawsuit says. “Because sales representative roles are primarily client-facing roles whereby sales representatives regularly interact with physicians who prescribe Eli Lilly products to their patients, Eli Lilly prefers that sales representatives to have a youthful appearance.”