time to challenge preconceptions on ageing

If things don’t change, they’ll stay as they are… Yes, that’s ridiculous at first reading, a joke my father used to make, but it gets to the heart of the problem when it comes to ageism in the workplace. It’s the orphan ‘ism’, left behind and ignored, and unless we change how we think, feel, and act towards age and ageing, nothing will ever improve.

The absurd part is that it’s something we are all going to be affected by. It’s easy in the collagen-rich enthusiasm of youth to discount / ignore / marginalise, so let’s start this year’s Global Intergenerational Week by challenging our preconceptions and making a commitment to highlight and tackle ageism in the workplace.

According to the UN Global report on ageism, intergenerational practice is one of three strategies that have been proven to work to reduce ageism.

This is a cornerstone of the strategy for LUMIN – bringing women together to share knowledge, skills, connections and use that collaboration as fuel towards greater career and entrepreneurial success in future. By tackling inequality in the workplace, we hope to make a move on ageism, which is particularly harsh on older women (FYI the gender pay gap for women in their 50s is almost 20%.  Read more about this in the TUC’s latest report here)

* 24th to 30th April is Global Intergenerational Week 2024: an annual, civil society-led campaign that aims to highlight the importance and benefits of intergenerational practice, a part of the World Health Organization’s Global Campaign to Combat Ageism #AWorld4AllAges.

#equality #genderedageism