22 January 2010

Stay young or face discrimination

A few years ago, who'd heard of the term 'ageism'? Sexism, yes; racism, of course. But ageism?

Today we hear the term more and more. In fact, in Britain people claiming discrimination at work because of their age more than tripled from 2006-2007!

So what is happening?

Like it or not, society increasingly demands that we stay young. Signs of ageing can quickly result in our being excluded - with the only recourse being to defend ourselves in the courtroom.

Actress Dame Joan Bakewell claimed that the media is dominated by the young. Meanwhile the business world is particularly unforgiving - especially in Britain.

"In America, there are women with white hair who are heads of banks, heads of corporations. Where are those women [in Britain]?" (Anna Ford, BBC)

We owe it to ourselves to stay Young Brained - and avoid falling victim to those who, rightly or wrongly, will judge our suitability according to ageist criteria.

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