Diversity: Event on 6th December 2006 at Lehman Brothers, London UK

Ageism: you are never too old – or too youngBy Nicola Stevens

City Women’s Network (CWN) London, held a panel discussion, kindly hosted by Lehman Brothers, to review the latest diversity legislation. This includes the new rulings on ageism in which, contrary to much public speculation, is as much about the concept of never being too old – as that of never being too young to have relevant experience.

The ageism legislation also breaks new ground, in that it is the first piece of diversity that covers the entire population. As Freda Line, Head of employer relations from The Employers Forum on Age (EFA) stated - “everyone has age”. And a point of warning - be aware that the ‘age issue’ could be linked with both sex and disability discrimination.

Looking at the second part of this ageism concept - that you are never too young to have experience - is particularly important for women who are seeking senior advancement. For many, the experience that would give them the necessary credibility for these top jobs, has been gained from a variety of sources – often in a non-linear fashion. In the process of recruiting, both headhunters and senior personnel, often find this mode of credibility, difficult to understand and accept.

Going back to the first part of the ageism concept – you are never too old - is a position that is strongly supported by governments and other organisations alike. In the UK, the idea of having citizens working as long as possible, therefore postponing drawing their pension, or saving for extra contributions, could relieve the pressure on Treasury coffers and pension funds.

Working Age – Journal of The Employers Forum on Age Autumn 2006

Another aspect to this continuing labour pool is that it might be vital to cover the decreasing population of the next generation. Harvard Business Review (HBR) March 2005 reported that the labour markets were tightening. As the baby boomer generation retires, the number of workers between 35 and 45 were shrinking, including women ‘ramping off’ work to raise a family. Surprisingly, immigration levels were staying stable. For some time now, organisations have been asking where their talented work force would come from to fill that gap as there was little relief from the traditional quarters. This legislation could help with this issue.

There is also research showing that, rather than leaving the workplace, people are healthier if gainfully employed – whether it is paid or voluntary work - plus the commitment and knowledge they have to pass on is invaluable to organisations. In many cases this is the first time these people find themselves without the heavy demands of a family and a growing career in which they need to prove themselves. It is now illegal to pay a person more, just because of their age. This fact may strengthen the business case for many to re-hire experienced staff that would have been rejected in the past.

The new ageism ruling also throws up some other interesting possibilities. The other pieces of diversity, gender, multiculturalism and disability, have made some members of the male workforce, nicknamed as the “Pale, Stale and Male” feel they have been under threat for some time. They have often, overtly or covertly, perpetuated intolerance concerning these diversity issues within organisations, for example, by effectively not re-employing women who have challenged they employer on sexual discrimination or equal pay.

The ageism legislation has, for the first time made men feel the possibility to bit back at the imbalance as they perceive it. The ageism laws only came to power in October 2006, so there has yet to be a case to test the ruling. But, if men are willing to battle for their employment rights using the ageism card and still remain employed, then this will give women a clear sign, and the strength, to challenge the discriminatory actions of employers, and no longer fear an employment backlash.

How aware is everyone of the age law?A survey carried out by EFA earlier this year showed that:

1) Three in four people over the age of 50 yrs old knew about the age laws, compared with less than half of those under 25 yrs old.

2) Nearly half of 55-65 yrs olds think it is OK to pay older people more than younger colleagues, regardless of their experience.

3) Organisations are still cling to age hierarchies – nearly half of manufacturing, financial and service sector staff expect the oldest in the room to be the most senior.

4) Public sector workers are more aware of their new rights – while retail employees are the least aware, in spite the fact some retailers are famous for gaining business advantages from age diversity.

Is there a Pan Europe attitude to ageism legislation and implementation?

In 2004, the employment lawyers at ius laboris, an alliance of law firms, surveyed their European partners to understand the approach they took on interpretation of ageism – and, surprise, surprise, the result was that attitudes and implementation were not uniform in the 24 EU countries surveyed. For example, when justifying age discrimination, the attitudes ranged initially from only France thinking it was unlawful to stipulate a youthful age in an advert for bar staff with young clientele. However, on further investigation, three more countries – namely Greece, Luxembourg and Portugal - decided there would be grounds for age discrimination if the bar could prove that its business would suffer by not having younger (under 30 yrs old) bar staff.

This duty of proof is acknowledged by everyone to be a difficult task, but essential. However, in 2007 EFA will be conducting a new pan European research project to review changes in attitudes www.efa.org.uk

Compliance and beyondTo help minimise the risk of age claims:

• Avoid using age ever you can.• Assess your organisation’s risk and be careful of your treatment of existing

employees – look for ageism anomalies. • Transparency is vital in all dealings to do with of assessment, performance and

KPIs.• Record keeping is important to back up decisions, for example, justifying

differing salaries. • Give training, especially to managers, on how to be age compliant. • Last, but not least, get professional help.

Ageism is not a mindset that is changed over night, so the message will need to be re-enforced several times…………… and watch the press and other information resources for insight into the how the ageism legislation is interpreted by all stakeholders over time.

What is our part as women?

Well - let’s make sure we all share knowledge, highlight anomalies and learn from our experiences - which is the beauty of being a part of CWN!

Further resources: - Off-Ramp and On-Ramp - March 2005 Harvard Business Review - Working Age – Journal of The Employers Forum on Age www.efa.org.uk- Results of Age Descrimination Survey ius laboris – represented in UK by Lewis

Silkin- Archive of Surveys, www.efa.org.uk

© Written by Nicola Stevens – President City Women’s network