Ageism

By Rupanshi luthra 

Ageism is a type of discrimination that involves prejudice against people based on their age. Similar to racism and sexism, ageism involves holding negative stereotypes about people of different ages.Ageism affects everyone, both young and old. Age discrimination can be seen in a wide variety of settings and situations including the workplace and in healthcare.

Ageism is everywhere. Ageism affects everyone, both young and old. Age discrimination can be seen in a wide variety of settings and situations including the workplace and in healthcare.

Signs of Ageism

Ageism can range from subtle actions to blatant acts of discrimination. A few signs of ageism include:

1. Exclusion from a group, such as at school or at work

2. Being passed over for promotions or raises

3. Being laid off or forced to retire

4. Negative comments about a person's age

5. Having your input or ideas ignored or dismissed

6. Losing out on benefits such as paid time off

7. Not having access to learning opportunities

What are the effects of ageism?

When internalized by older adults themselves, ageist views can lead to poor mental and physical health. This widespread and insidious practice is an everyday challenge for older people that has harmful effects on their health and well-being. By de-humanizing older people, ageism is a contributing factor in determining their social treatment. Overlooked for employment, restricted from social services and stereotyped in the media, ageism marginalizes and excludes people in their communities.

The untold story of ageism in India

 A 55-year-old engineer was waiting for an interview at a top global tech firm in Bengaluru, when a woman from the human resources (HR) team came up to him and apologized. “You were invited for the interview by mistake. We are looking for younger profiles," said the executive.

The engineer quietly left. “It has happened before," he says matter-of-factly. “Since the beginning of this year, in at least 4-5 interviews, I have been told that at 55, I am too old for senior roles. Many companies only look for candidates in their late 40s or have someone homegrown for senior roles," he says.

Many not-so-young yet highly talented and richly experienced people like him often struggle in the Indian job market that is oversupplied with young talent. A number of factors make recruiters, sometimes subconsciously, prefer younger applicants. They are often deemed more energetic, more adaptable to hectic and erratic work schedules and also have lower monetary expectations from the organization.

Ageism, however, is not just part of the corporate workplaces. It is experienced and encountered by people on an everyday basis. India's entertainment industry has long been blamed for being ageist, with older actors and models constantly losing out roles to younger ones. The advertising industry largely portrays a world minus the elders. Unfortunately, this is discrimination, not many people are willing to talk about.

The Role of Knowledge, Anxiety about Aging in Young People and Adults

The progressive aging of society, caused by profound demographic changes, brings with it the necessity of confronting the subject of biases against the elderly. Ageism can influence society’s attitudes regarding this population, in addition to impacting the self-perception of elderly people. This, in turn, has consequences for positive outcomes during the aging process. The current research aims to investigate the simultaneous relationships between knowledge, age, anxiety about agingtoward the elderly, as well as their predictive roles with respect to ageism. Increased education about the aging process could help reduce anxiety against the aging among those who are most responsible for prejudice against the elderly. Knowledge of the antecedents of prejudice toward the elderly is fundamental to promoting positive attitudes toward them.

Question tends to be raised whether ageism in India is reality or a myth. If one looks at the developments in the socio-economic context- urban crowding shortages of housing, the composition of families and changing psychological makeup of individualisms, it is abundantly clear that ageism indeed is a reality. The earlier traditions of joint family still tend to survive in rural setups where respect for the elderly is a continued phenomenon; however, taking the total country into account, measures on how to tackle the consequences of ageism, as emphasized by WHO-201812 need to be practised and followed.

To conclude, it is apparent that an enhanced life span and longevity are matters that are important in medical management, prevention and care of chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, atherosclerosis and related conditions. In view of related morbidity in the early years of life what matters more is the disease-free duration of life termed as healthspan, rather than lifespan.Ageism in healthcare of course is a behavioural and attitudinal issue that demands attention. Precaution among the medical and health professionals towards elderly is crucial and vital.

Conclusion

Prejudice and stereotyping lead to age discrimination that can affect everyone. It disadvantages older workers, resulting in an ineffective use of human resources. Ageist beliefs influence health care providers' professional training and service delivery, which in turn negatively affect older patients' treatment and health outcomes. Narrow views of aging lead people to ignore substantial differences among older adults' driving abilities and to underappreciate their social needs. Ongoing education is needed to inform those in power that age is a poor predictor of performance and ability and should not be a basis of discrimination.