Ageism: Oppression Against Youth

Like sexism and racism, ageism is discrimination, a deep and profound prejudice against the elderly. Elderly individuals constantly face negligence because of Ageism. In this society of isms, racism, sexism, and ageism; these things create labels, stereotypes, and categorizes people, by shape, size, color, and age. The elderly in their later years should be able to have a peaceable life and be treated with dignity and respect. However, pretty much anyone over the age of 50 is a target for an attack of an attitude of ageism at some point. The Greek, the Native indigenous group and Koreans are few of the cultures that adore, admires and respects the elderly in their community. As baby boomers are growing old and ageing out of the workforce,

Ageism is any attitudes, actions, or institutional structure which subordinates a person or group because of their age or any assignment of roles in society purely on the basis of age. It typically reflects a prejudice in society against older adults. The concept of aging varies across different cultures as different countries have varying demographic statistics such as Japan and Italy having significant part of their population above the age of 60 versus most countries in Africa who have significant parts of their population below the age of 30. Most research on ageism is done on children, adolescents, or young adults with few studies on actual older adults. Age is increasingly becoming a more positive concept, yet older people are still stereotyped. The three theories in sociology about aging are disengagement, activity, and continuity.

The first article, “Police Make Life Hell for Youth of Color” discusses the stop and frisky policy in New York. Innocuous activities such as grocery shopping, visiting a friend or walking home from work or school are suspicious activities if performed by the African- American or Latino communities. The stop and frisk policy is a systematic weapon that policemen utilize against ethnic people-even children.

The aging population is the fastest growing population in our nation. By the year 2030, it is estimated that approximately 61 million people will be between the ages 65 -85 and 9 million individuals will be ages 85 and older (Ouchida &Lachs, 2015). Perceptions of the elderly have slightly changed for the better in recent years, but biases and discrimination are still very widespread in our society today. “Ageism” is a phrase coined by Robert Butler in 1969 and implies a preconception, prejudice, and discrimination against older adults and can come in many forms.

Ageism can affect both the youth and the elderly, but in today’s times it is mainly focused on the elderly. The elderly are constantly harassed, judged, and stereotyped for their age. The elderly are viewed as disabled, has-beens, and basically serve no propose, instead of being viewed as wise, bold, experienced, and valuable. In the article “Putting The

The term "ageism" was coined in 1969 by Robert Butler, the first director of the National Institute on Aging. He used the word to describe the process of systematic stereotyping of people because they are old. Ageism is a term that is similar to other ‘isms ' in society, such as racism and sexism. "Ageism allows other generations to see older people as different from themselves; thus they subtly cease to identify with their elders as human beings" (Butler, 1975). All people, including the young as well as the old, can be discriminated against based on age. Today ageism is more broadly defined as any prejudice or discrimination against or in favor of an age group (Palmore, 1990).

The news is flooded with stories of negative acts of racism, along with arguments regarding sexism and stereotypical gender roles. While major steps have been taken toward a more unified, accepting country, the United States continues to still lack correct knowledge and understanding to one of the most common “isms” in the country: ageism. Ageism is defined in Aging, the Individual, and Society as “the prejudiced behavior of individuals and systems within the culture against older adults, including negative consequences of inaccurate stereotyping of the elderly” (Hillier & Barrow, 2015, p.11). As a result of prejudice, myths tend to form about the stereotyped group of people. Facts and Fiction about an Aging America by The MacArthur Foundation

People are denied their sense of agency on many levels in regards to decision-making, freedom, and independence. The youth, as well as the elderly are either seen as incompetent because lack of knowledge or expertise. Youth especially minors are given less acknowledgment due to being such a young age, especially when it comes to medical practices. Youth are discriminated by older people, usually those who are established. For instance, youth and crime, all youth that have had a criminal record are labeled as being bad, and a lot are stereotyped into this system because they have the same attributes as others who have caused crime. The elderly gets discriminated by because they are not as able, physically and mentally, and professionals and younger people talk down to them because they think/ know that they no longer don’t know what may be the best situation for them. The elderly people get taken advantage of sometimes because of this because they are so unknowing of the continuous changes around them.

Ageism is surprisingly common in Australia, particularly within the workforce. The definition of ageism in working life according to Furunes and Mykletun (2009), is the “stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination against ageing workers, based on chronological age or age categories such as older worker or senior”. This phenomenon has seen older workers increasingly subjected to biases and discriminatory practices when seeking and maintaining employment. Hence, the importance for organisations to understand current and trending issues on age discrimination, in order to draft and implement, effective, and relevant policies. The purpose of this report is to provide an in-depth analysis on ageism as a diversity issue in the workplace and to recommend organisational policies that recognise older workers as a strategic advantage. This analysis will focus on literature relevant to the recruitment and development of older workers. To begin with, this report will consider the context of ageism in Australia providing a deeper understanding of the diversity issue. Furthermore, an extensive discussion on the positive and negative age stereotypes of older workers will follow. The report will then review literature regarding organisational practices towards recruitment and development from an age related perspective. Finally, recommendations will ensue, providing organisational best practise suggestions to create age positive recruitment and training experiences.

Ageism is becoming a major problem. The elderly population is predicted to double in the next eight years, having the effect of older people in the workforce, medical patients, and community members. This causes younger people to be around older people more often causing them to make generalizations. There has been an increased effort to stop age discrimination. Ageing is a natural occurring thing so most people in their lives will be affected by ageism. For one to fully understand ageism, one must know the definition, stereotypes, and the effect of those stereotypes.

Age discrimination has long been present in society due to the rapid development happening around us. According to Farney, Aday & Breault (2006), this era of ageism is defined as "discrimination against any age group", but it often is pointed to age discrimination among adults which is slowly causing a negative effect for them in the workplace. In the workplace, adults with more experience and longer history behind them are targets of this ageism belief that companies and employers tend to have (Farney, Aday, & Breault, 2006). They are shunned and even fired in favor of accepting new and fresh faces for the company they have worked for. Unknown to most companies and employers, this notion of favoring the young and banishing the old can

Ageism has been defined as a type of discrimination that has a prejudice against an individual based on their age (Cherry, 2015). This was first used by Robert Butler, a gerontologist, who published back in 1969 the article that stated that ageism was a “serious national problem” (Levy; Macdonald, 2016). Mr. Butler was trying to help other understand and describe the stereotype and discrimination against the elder generation, and to show that ageism was as big of an issue compared to racism and sexism (Brownell, 2014). Since the establishment of Ageism, the growing work force of aged

ll he said was that he is open to let people know he’s in it in case someone needs more information. Upon studying his answers to the psychological side of his life we discussed his involvement in a 12 step program. We came to an agreement that this program was a great resource that he has taken advantage of to improve his life for the better. We proceeded to ask him if he ever felt discriminated because of his age. The look on his face changed to sad. He said he was never discriminated personally to his face but he felt like some of his students wish he would retire. He continued to add that he has read on online sites students saying negative things about him. After reviewing his response to ageism we came to an agreement that the best way

In today’s economy and workforce, ageism is a factor that we see appear way too often. Ageism reverses it’s roles (discrimination for being too old and discrimination for being too young) and changes its job essentials when need be. The effects of Ageism do not “discriminate”. This particular discussion has an experienced meaning to me since I have encountered ageism in previous employment. However, before sharing my experience I would like to express my position on the posted statement. “Older workers take employment from the young”. I spoke with a few friends on this issue and their responses seemed bias for the fact that we are all young (19-21), yet each of us obtain jobs that Older adults normally obtain. My friends and I discovered that

In conclusion, ageism in today’s times is a real form of discrimination and needs to be fixed. An individual’s skills and capabilities should be based on a personal level, not their age. The elderly and the young need just as much job opportunities as the middle-aged individuals living in the