Committed to (un)equal opportunities?: ‘New ageism’ and the older worker

Abstract

In recent years the principle of equality of opportunity in employment has been widely promoted as a means of addressing the marginalization of various groups of workers, including older workers. Evidence suggests, however, that equal opportunities have not improved prospects for older workers. The present study employs discourse analysis to examine a variety of accounts of those responsible for employment within a number of organizations. Analysis shows that these accounts are rhetorically oriented towards potential attributions of age discrimination. As evidence of a non-discriminatory stance, participants attend to possible shortcomings in written policies by making explicit their organizations' equal opportunity practices. In describing their workforces as comprising predominantly younger employees, however, they make only implicit reference to practices involving older workers. When they account for the apparent age imbalances in their workforces, they attribute these imbalances to factors outwith their control so that the organization's practices become completely 'invisible'. The contrast between this 'invisibility' and explicit claims to be committed to equal opportunities allows participants to position themselves as non-discriminating employers and at the same time justifies the marginalization of older workers.

The Evolution of Retirement as Systematic Ageism

“…This would include the realm of 'justified' ageism where, the attributions of discrimination are minimized by the account-giver to fit with their own images of fairness (Levy, 2001;McVittie, McKinlay, & Widdicombe, 2003). Many account-givers offer rationalizations for retirement that have little to do with the facts or the older adults they represent.…”

Les représentations à l’égard des séniors

“…Ainsi, ce sont bien les individus qui la composent qui donnent sens à la notion d'organisation, ce qu'appuient également McVittie, McKinlay et Widdicombe (2003) à la suite de leur analyse des discours de managers à propos de l'égalité de traitement et des opportunités de carrière des plus âgés. Dès lors, partant de l'idée que les séniors sont ceux qui, somme toute, ont le plus participé au devenir de l'organisation et à ce qu'elle est aujourd'hui (du moins selon toute probabilité, étant donné également les discriminations liées à l'âge à l'embauche), on peut penser que les travailleurs plus jeunes développant un engagement organisationnel élevé percevront les travailleurs les plus anciens de l'organisation de manière peu péjorative.…”

Can Small Businesses Help Reduce Employment Exclusion?

“…Employers nevertheless stressed that irrespective of sector, business size and current workforce profile, the 'best person for the job' regardless of age, ethnicity, disability, or parental status would be recruited. This is perhaps to be expectedemployers wanted to establish the fairness of their recruitment practices and to avoid attributions of discriminatory or unfair treatment (McVittie et al 2003). Employers accounted for the absence, or limited presence, of particular types of employee in terms of labour supply factors -the paucity of job applicants from these groups -rather than the recruitment channels used or selection criteria adopted.…”