Dealing with Age Discrimination in the Job Market

Dealing with Age Discrimination in the Job Market

Just a year ago, in October of 2015, Bloomberg published an article stating emphatically that age discrimination does exist and is hitting older women, in their words, “particularly tough.” They make a claim that despite laws to the contrary, age discrimination is pervasive in the United States and they back up the findings with a study compiled by the National Bureau of Economic Research. So, is age discrimination pervasive? All indicators in that report and several others concur that many employers do discriminate based on the age of the applicant, women more so than men.

First – Who to Turn to If You Feel You are the Object of Discrimination

Actually, whether or not you choose to duke it out in a court of law is completely up to you. Whether or not you have solid proof, or enough evidence to prove your case, would probably be up to a legal team with at least one team member who has a master of science in law and a specialization in employment and labor laws. Check out this website to see exactly what kind of specialist you would be seeking, and why this specialization is so important. Yes, all attorneys have a general knowledge of the law, but not all lawyers are up on legislation as well as case law in regards to age-based discrimination.

Proof that Age Discrimination Exists

In the Bloomberg report, they cited three experts who developed an experiment that tracked employment seekers nearing retirement age. Those experts included:

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  • Ian Burn – University of California at Irvine
  • David Neumark – University of California at Irvine
  • Patrick Button – Tulane University

What they found was that applications submitted by younger people were most likely to get that coveted call-back. Cities in their study included:

  • New York
  • Boston
  • Los Angeles
  • Chicago

Applications varied from hourly janitorial work to high-level professional jobs. Across the board, younger people got calls from hiring managers at a much higher rate than for those older applicants submitting applications. This led them, and others, to believe that experience simply isn’t as important as age.

Women Over 50 Highly Discriminated Against

While someone with an online masters degree in law would quickly be able to spot the discrepancies in the hiring process, the average woman ‘knows’ discrimination is there but can’t prove it. These three experts found that of the more than 40,000 applications they reviewed, women across the board were called back much less frequently than men but while both men and women were discriminated against because of their age, women were much more so – a sad finding for this day and age!

Discrimination Makes It Hard to Age Gracefully!

It is difficult enough to age gracefully without being told, in so many words, that you are not ‘wanted’ due to the very same age that should make you more desirable as an applicant because of greater and more extensive experience. Women are still fighting for equality and in recent years Boomers who have hit the near retirement age are joining the foray. If you feel you have been discriminated against, contact a professional who can help you file a suit or, at the very least, document employers who are suspected of discrimination.

Over time, and with enough evidence, these employers could be subject to penalties imposed by the federal government. The choice is yours, but the one takeaway here is that if you feel you have been discriminated against, don’t feel alone in your plight. There are millions more just like you out there. If enough women come forward, something just might get done to end this blatant offense.

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Dealing with Age Discrimination in the Job Market
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