Age Discrimination

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Age discrimination occurs when a decision is made on the basis of a person’s age. In the workplace these are most often decisions about recruitment, promotion and dismissal. Although such discrimination could be seen in a reluctance to hire workers who were perceived to be too young and immature for the job, in practice it refers to a bias against older workers. In societies that celebrates youthfulness above almost all else, it can be very difficult for even highly qualified professionals to find new positions after the age of 50. For male senior executives, the fear of age discrimination has led to an increasing demand for cosmetic surgery, but for most older workers there appears little they can do to resist being swept aside in favour of younger replacements.
Nationwide laws against age discrimination are some 30 years old in the United States, 20 years old in Canada and 10 years old in Australia. There are currently no such laws in the U.K. By 1 October 2006 however, the U.K. will finally have to legislate to make age discrimination in employment unlawful, pursuant to the European Employment Directive. But around the world the issue remains a controversial one, both in general and in particular over the practice of setting mandatory retirement ages.



Should age discrimination be made illegal in the workplace?