One Size Doesn’t Fit All: Toward a Theory on the Intersectional Salience of Ageism at Work

Abstract

Research on workplace ageism has largely ignored the intersection of multiple-group memberships. Thus, we provide theoretical coherence regarding contextual factors determining age salience, and competing theories on consequences of multiple subordinate-group status. Our framework integrates the theories and shows when/how competing aspects of group-membership become salient.

Ronald J. Burke, Cary L. Cooper, and Alexander‐Stamatios G. Antoniou. The multi‐generational and aging workforce: Challenges and opportunities. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, 2015, 448 pages, $160, hardcover

“…The authors argue that laws in the United States and United Kingdom provide incomplete protection for older workers. Consistent with recent research (Marcus & Fritzsche, ), they also discuss the intersection of age with attributes such as gender and race in the context of discrimination.…”

Why and When Do Learning Goal Orientation and Attitude Decrease with Aging? The Role of Perceived Remaining Time and Work Centrality

“…Future studies should include working as well as nonworking individuals to test whether the learning orientation and attitude toward learning and development of these groups differ. Furthermore, like most other studies on aging at work, we did not examine the intersection of multiple group identities (Marcus & Fritzsche, ). Employees are not only young or old; they are also male or female, White or non‐White, and have low or high socioeconomic status.…”

“…Employees are not only young or old; they are also male or female, White or non‐White, and have low or high socioeconomic status. Multiple‐group membership influences individual employees’ perceptions, attitudes, emotions, and behaviors (e.g., perceptions of an older White male might differ considerably from an older non‐White female; Marcus & Fritzsche, ). For example, older women might be more disadvantaged compared to older men with respect to learning opportunities at work, because stereotypes on incompetency and inability to learn are more prevalent among older women (Hummert, ).…”

Clarifying multilevel and temporal influences on successful aging at work: An ecological systems perspective

“…Such intersecting aspects of one's demography have been theorized to color the experience of aging at work. The experience of aging at work is expected to unfold differently for older men vis-à-vis older women (Marcus & Fritzsche, 2015).…”