Ageism, is it a concern?

In the world today we struggle against many forms of discrimination. Most of them usually escape our attention as we live our daily lives; only really coming to awareness when we personally experience the pain from their sting.

So was my experience with ageism. I had certainly heard of ageism usually tied to instances of well-heeled individuals losing very lucrative positions as their employer replaced them with younger, less costly employees. These unfortunate few inevitably struggled with finding a similar position that brought both role and reward.

Throughout my working career I had not experienced difficulty in finding work. When I chose to pursue employment or change my job track I was able to find what I was looking for in short order and often had multiple job offers to choose from. At this point I had not experienced ageism and in my career path I did not foresee aging as being a problem as I saw the benefits of experience only increasing.

A few years ago I came to a crossroads and I wanted to take my career in a different direction. I had become disillusioned by what I will describe as ‘corporate culture politics’, and wanted to focus my energies in a positive direction.

I spent a year in my search and I lost count of the positions I applied for. I was qualified for every position I went after and for many, overly so.

I really struggled with what was happening and I could not understand why this experience was so drastically different than what I had known before.

I started to research the events of the past year to discover what I was up against. I discovered that positions I had applied for in every instance went to an applicant considerably younger than myself.

I started looking into job discrimination based on a person’s age and I found that I was not alone in my experience.

I came across multiple testimonials from individuals in all levels of job experience and industry. Many of them holding PhD's and having professional acclaim for developing systems, designs, and inventing technology that we still benefit from today. Out of work and struggling to be employed in their field all because of their age.

Statistically ageism affects women in greater numbers, though men are not immune. The effects of ageism start to show for women in the workplace from the age of 30 on; for men it starts at 35.

During the earlier years of my career I knew of individuals who lost their jobs through mandatory retirement or as mentioned above being replaced for a cheaper model.

I was inspired by these individuals as they chose to establish a new career for themselves, many of them choosing to become consultants in their field of expertise.

Over time many people have shared their stories with me of how ageism has impacted them, or someone that they love and how they chose to deal with it. I have heard of spouses joining forces to build a business together. Individuals who sought out training in areas that have always interested them to pursue a new work experience. Others who have returned to school to further their education and achieve some of their academic dreams.

It gave me a different perspective on my situation and I decided that it was time for me to pursue something of meaning and value to myself. I knew that I had something of value to offer and I determined to do just that.

The last few years have been some of the most exciting ones of my professional career and I genuinely look forward to where this work will take me.

Ageism is an issue, one that has far-reaching effects in the workplace and no easy answers. As with other obstacles in our paths it can also be an opportunity to grow, discover, and create something new.