Positive Aging and 45 Shocking Ageism Facts

In May of this past year, I discovered an article entitled 45 Shocking Ageism Statistics by Brandon Galle. A successful business and marketing consultant, Mr. Galle emphasizes the impact of Ageism in the workplace and age discrimination worldwide. While I won’t list all the forms and expressions of ageism now, the ones listed ought to be eye-opening

• 58% of workers believe that ageism begins when workers reach the age of 50.
• 92% of workers who have seen age discrimination happen in the workplace, or have experienced it first-hand, say that it is either very or somewhat common to see.
• Age has negatively affected advancement, selection, evaluations, and ratings of interpersonal skills for workers in studies that date back as far as the 1970s.
• 15% of workers in a recent survey said that it would be unacceptable to have a boss who was 70 years old. That’s 3x greater than those who would find it unacceptable to have a 30-year-old boss.
• Under-25s in the workforce are at least 2x as likely to have experienced ageism than other age groups.
• 64% of older adults say they have seen or experienced age discrimination in the workplace.
• The number of age discrimination claims recorded by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission [EEOC]: 21,396.

Ageism Isn’t Just an American Problem

• Ageism is now the most widely experienced form of discrimination in Europe.
• 35% of Europeans say that they have experienced unfair treatment directed towards them solely because of their age. This is higher than gender [25%] and ethnicity [17%].
• 44% of Europeans see ageism as a serious problem. The country most concerned about ageism is France, where 68% of the population sees it as an issue.
• 39% of people who have experienced ageism in Europe see it as a lack of respect, defined as being patronized or ignored.
• Fewer than 1 in 2 people in the 55-64 age demographic are employed. Only 1 in 10 people in the 65-69 age demographic are gainfully employed.
• 57% of Europeans believe that older people contribute very little to the economy.
• People over the age of 70 have the lowest perceived status in European society, even in their own eyes.
• 53% of Europeans say they have no friends over the age of 70. In the 15-24 age demographic, that percentage reaches 80%.

Ageism Is also on Social Networking Sites

• In a survey of Facebook pages that focus on the Baby Boomer demographics, 3 out of every 4 of them heavily criticized the population.
• 37% of Facebook groups that focus on seniors actively advocate banning them from basic public activities, such as shopping for groceries.
• The median ages of employees at Apple, Google, and Facebook are 33, 31, and 26 respectively.
• 58% of people in the older generations say that they routinely see jokes that poke fun at their demographic or make light of the common stereotypes that are seen.

Have I gotten your attention yet? If so, please let me hear from you. Join me in dramatically changing the culture of ageism in our country by lending your voice to the Positive Aging movement. Visit my blog (www.wisdomofage.net/blog) to contribute your comments and opinions.

Looking for some positive news?

• Twice as many successful entrepreneurs are over 50 as under 25.
• The average age of a successful entrepreneur in high-growth industries such as computers, health care, and aerospace is 40.
• 3 out of every 4 older workers has more than 6 years of industry experience when they create a new small business.
• 50%. That’s the percentage of successful entrepreneurs over the age of 50 who have more than 10 years of industry experience when they create a startup.
• The 20-34 age demographic has the lowest rate of entrepreneurial activity than any other age demographic.
• Americans in the over 50 age demographic account for nearly half of all consumer spending, but network television focuses programming on the 18-34 demographic because they are perceived as having more disposable income.