SPECIAL DIVERSITY & INCLUSION SECTION
Ageism in the Workplace
By: Joshua Young, EverFi
Why leadership training programs should be age agnostic.
M
illennials have officially taken over the American workplace—statistically speaking.
According to a recent Pew Research Center report, the Millennial generation is now the largest age demographic active in the American workforce. Currently, Millennials make up 35 percent of workers, while Gen Xers (33 percent) and Baby Boomers (25 percent) still comprise the overall plurality. The Millennial labor force will continue to grow, of course, but Pew’s analysis hints that this growth rate will be slower than preceding generations, meaning older employees will continue to dominate the workforce.
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• May-June 2019
Given this noticeable trend, it’s not surprising that according to surveys conducted by CareerBuilder, LLC, nearly 40 percent of respondents reported to a younger manager. Unfortunately, this trend also suggests that far too many businesses are overlooking older employees when filling key management positions. The following are a few of the most common misconceptions that fuel ageism in the workplace.
Why do businesses overlook older workers? According to the findings of the 18th Annual Global CEO Survey, while 64 percent of responding CEOs had employed strategies to promote diversity and inclusion in their companies, only 8 percent considered “age” as a part of that strategy. As a result, mentoring programs and leadership training tracks often overlook older employees.
