Age discrimination is when someone is treated unfairly or less favorably due to their age compared to someone in a similar situation of a different age. The discrimination could be because the person is considered too young or too old. An example of what age discrimination can look like in the community is when, in the workplace, someone younger is hired for a position rather than an older person even though the older person may be the most experienced person for the role. This may occur because hiring a younger person tends to cost less as the award wages can be lower, particularly in industries such as retail and hospitality where teenagers can work part-time. Another reason companies may employ younger people may be that younger people are seen as more capable technologically speaking. In the technology industry, the majority of employees are young with the median age in a workplace generally between late twenties to mid to late-thirties, as seen in this table.
Anne Hathaway, a famous American actress and singer has come out explaining how she had started to experience age discrimination at only 32 years old in 2015. Despite being one of the highest-paid actresses in the world and winning multiple awards, she has been rejected from many roles which have then been given to younger girls. Hollywood is seen as a very ageist place and even though Hathaway is getting frustrated due to losing roles, she says that, quote “I can't complain about it because I benefitted from it. When I was in my early twenties, parts would be written for women in their fifties and I would get them.' Hathaway is one of many actors that have experienced this type of age discrimination. Age discrimination is very common especially in the workplace, when purchasing goods and services and education. Roughly, 2 out of 3 workers over the age of 45 have either personally experienced or seen age discrimination. 91% of the 61% that have reported age discrimination, said it is very common. Age discrimination hurts people in a lot of ways. If someone is not getting a job or the right to education because of their age, this can cause them to be jobless, which can result in little or no income. This can hurt someone both physically and mentally and lead to homelessness, depression, etc. Not only does age discrimination hurt the person that is being discriminated against, but it can also impact the company that has committed this crime. The company can be reported, which can result in a lawsuit and a bad reputation which are both unhealthy for a company.
The company can experience a large financial loss, not only due to the lawsuit but also from loss of customer’s business because customers need to be able to trust the business that they are purchasing goods and services. Older workers tend to face age discrimination more than younger workers. With our population aging and about one-quarter of Australians over the age of 55, more people are experiencing age discrimination when applying for a job or just at work. Currently, 27% of working people over the age of 50 are experiencing age discrimination. Older workers tend to receive this discrimination more often due to stereotypes of their abilities, their responsibilities, their role in society, being too slow to learn, outdated skills, etc. A survey conducted by the Australian Human Rights Commission showed that 4 out of 10 companies surveyed, avoid hiring anyone over the age of 55. More and more people and groups are starting to address age discrimination. They are doing this by letting people know what their rights are. One example is a speech that the Human Rights Commissioner, Dr Sev Ozdowski made. In this speech, Dr. Ozdowski brings awareness to age discrimination and explains it by giving many examples so people can understand the true meaning and maybe even relate to it. He then goes on to explain the rights we all have. This speech he made in front of Congress has brought more awareness to this issue to the government and more and stricter laws have been put in place to minimize the chance of age discrimination happening. Age discrimination is not something that is easy to fix and due to an aging population, it is only expected to occur more often. Groups, governments, and individuals are trying to bring more awareness to this form of discrimination to help people out. Thank you.
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Speech about Discrimination.
(2023, September 25). Edubirdie. Retrieved November 23, 2024, from https://edubirdie.com/examples/speech-about-discrimination/
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Speech about Discrimination [Internet]. Edubirdie.
2023 Sept 25 [cited 2024 Nov 23].
Available from: https://edubirdie.com/examples/speech-about-discrimination/
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