Why our comfort with age discrimination is bad for business
A recent poll from the New York Times found that roughly two-thirds of Democrats would prefer a presidential candidate other than Joe Biden in 2024. There’s nothing particularly surprising about that — Biden’s popularity figures have been low for a long time. What troubled me was the reasoning. 33% of respondents said Biden’s age made him a less-than-ideal candidate, the most common answer. One woman even went so far as to say, “I want younger blood. I am so tired of all old people running our country. I don’t want someone knocking on death’s door.”
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are now pillars for any modern company, and most people wouldn’t think of saying someone’s race or gender disqualified them from holding a job. Age, on the other hand, is the lone demographic where we can write off talent and feel just fine about it.
Writing off a whole group based on a stereotype is sloppy thinking. It’s damaging to society and damaging to business — which needs both the best talent and diverse representation to solve problems for potential customers. The bigoted thinking behind age discrimination leads to a tremendous waste of talent, where people are shut out of opportunities because of characteristics that have nothing to do with their potential or performance.
Recognizing age discrimination at work
In the world of the workplace, age discrimination is a serious problem. It happens at both ends of the spectrum. We stereotype old people as incompetent, feeble, demented, and narrow-minded. We stereotype young people as entitled, lazy, overconfident, and immature. Then, we look for the proof: Whenever someone behaves in this way, it’s because their age is inevitably slipping through. When they don’t, it’s the exception that proves the rule.
If you don’t want to vote for Joe Biden because you disagree with his policies or you see him as ineffectual, that’s sound reasoning. If you don’t want to vote for him because he’s 79, you’re being sloppy.
Learning to do it anyway, age discrimination be damned
When I was thinking about enrolling in my MBA program, I realized I would be 50 when I graduated. Who was going to hire a 50-year-old with a brand-new MBA? Worried, I went to talk with one of the professors and told him about my concern.
His answer? “Gail, there are people who won’t hire you because you’re a woman. There are people who won’t hire you because you’re Jewish. There are people who won’t hire you because you’re 50 years old. Those are stupid people and you don’t want to work for them.” His answer reassured me. I went to business school, and I landed a job before I graduated. I’ve been working every day since.
Don’t be one of the stupid people. Decide whether to vote for someone or hire them because of their unique qualifications — not because of some irrelevant stereotype.
