Vast majority of women suffer from ageism at work

Author Moonshot.news

Published on: 27/02/2024

77.8% of women experience age based discrimination at work at some stage in their careers. Only 12.7% say they have not experienced ageism at all. “Ageism is an ever-present form of discrimination that workplaces can no longer afford to ignore. It is impacting women-identifying professionals across countries, organizations, industries, and sectors. And, the data reflects that there is no age or stage in a woman’s career where she’s immune to it”. 

The statement is made by Canada-based organisation Women of Influence + promoting women at work. The organisation has presented a survey of ageism comprising 1 258 respondents across 46 countries, 98% of them women.

“The impact of age intersects with other facets of a person’s identity, such as race, ability, and gender. Intersectionality can intensify the negative effects of ageism and respondents are noticing this in their workplaces.” 

69.2% in the survey believe ageism disproportionately affects women. One respondent said: “Ageism is so intertwined with sexism, so it is hard to separate the two.” 

55 per% reported experiencing lower self-confidence as a result of experiencing ageism, 62.1% reported an increase in stress, and 59.3% having to overcompensate or work harder to prove their value. 

61.8% reported second-guessing their capabilities, and 51.1% ageism having a negative impact on their mental health. 

Of the respondents surveyed, 57.7% reported impaired career progression, 52.1% reported a lack of sense of belonging at work, and 50.9% experiencing dissatisfaction with their employer.

Other effects included feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt despite evidence of success (imposter syndrome), feeling like they had to look for a new job or role, as well as feeling reluctant to speak up, disengaged, and isolated at work. 

Only one-fifth (21.1%) said their workplace has a policy to address ageism while 43.9% said no and 25.3% were unsure

“While we often think of ageism as something that impacts people in the latter years of their careers, the reality is ageism can have negative implications at all ages and stages. For women in the earlier years of their careers, ageism can be debilitating and demotivating”, the report says.

Participants in the survey are employed across diverse industries, with the vast majority, 89%, working within multi-generational workplaces. 

“Most significant is the fact that the experience of ageism occurred at all stages of the women’s careers, with notable peaks during their initial decade of work (0 – 10) and later years (21+)”, the report says.

“The survey reveals that the perpetrators of ageism are identified across all levels of seniority, from the HR department to co-workers and clients, to managers and executives. The majority were identified as being men, especially in the categories of HR, leaders/executives, and clients/suppliers.” 

“But, there were also women in every category discriminating against others because of their age. Respondents added recruiters to the list of those engaging in age-based discrimination.”

The report’s proposed action against ageism:

1. Raise awareness and provide training and education. The first step is to accept that ageism is a real issue and is having more of a significant impact than we think. 
2. Implement preventative policies and hold people accountable. Armed with the knowledge that ageism exists, the next step is to put policies into place and adhere to them. A policy is only as good as the action that follows. 
3. Develop reciprocal mentorship programs. A call for mentorship as a solution to ageism came through loud and clear in the survey.
4. Focus on competencies over age when recruiting and hiring. 
5. Include ageism as a part of DEI strategy, initiatives, and programs. The need for ageism to be included as a pillar of DEI was agreed upon by respondents across the board.