Here is the full transcript of Samantha Dzabic’s talk titled “How Workplace Ageism Hurts Everyone—And The Bottom Line” at TEDxBurleigh Heads 2024 conference.
Listen to the audio version here:
TRANSCRIPT:
The Story of Benjamin
Once upon a time, in a land called Silicon Valley, there lived a fantastic young techie called Benjamin. His skills opened many doors and he was proud to be part of the advancements that were changing the world.
Years passed and Benjamin started noticing that of late, his ideas were dismissed more often, his performance appraisals became satisfactory, and he was not being put forward for any new and exciting projects. The invitations for after-work drinks were also coming in less frequently and then, one day, he was made redundant and his job given to a much younger person, but he was quite confident he was going to land a new job quickly.
After all, his experience and reputation were bound to deliver a fantastic new role. So he applied for one such role and got rejected. He applied for another, another rejection, then another, then another, then another. You get the picture?
Benjamin realized that it was his age that became a barrier. In this land of relentless pursuit of newer ideas, younger simply meant smarter, more desirable, more profitable, better. It’s no secret that the median age at tech giants such as Facebook and Google is under 30 and the jobs in the valley are geared towards youth. They call them digital natives with a great culture fit.
Ageism in Australia
This story is not unique if you’re over 55. It applies to us here in Australia and it’s definitely not endemic to the tech industry. Not so long ago, I woke up in Sydney one morning to realize all of a sudden I was old.
My inbox was flooded with emails from Medicare, senior citizens card, funeral services, and other businesses targeting me with offers and warning me about senior citizens scams.
In social settings, I noticed younger people frequently look past me, sometimes even right through me, so much so that I started believing I was invisible. And people meeting me for the first time will often ask me whether I’m now retired.
Although I do get a lot of those, “you look so good for your age,” which really flatters and infuriates me at the same time. But “it’s looking good for my age” was not very helpful when I decided to do a little bit of research about applying for a job at my age. I can report that applying for 62 jobs, jobs I’m very well qualified for, on different platforms from June to November last year, delivered exactly zero job interviews.
It delivered 20 very impersonal automated emails and 42 deafening silences from recruiters. I believe that’s called ghosting, yeah? My friends and colleagues of similar vintage shared that in their experience, recruiters will either ghost them or offer platitudes such as, “or you are overqualified for the role.” In short translation, you’re too old and likely too expensive.
The Reality of Aging Population
The others will talk about tough job markets, and then some recruiters will suggest that removing your experience from the 90s may be helpful. Let me share some steps with you. Recent research from Australian Human Resources Institute found that in 2023, only one quarter of employers would consider people over 60 in their recruitment process.
One in six would not even give them a look in. And this while two thirds of HR professionals said they were finding it difficult to hire experienced staff. Recent and other reports from 2021 found that three quarters of Australians aged over 50 need and want to keep working indefinitely, firstly for financial reasons and secondly for lack of social connection.
And in the world of investments, and let’s face it, these people are listened to, after all it’s money. The Moody’s report from 22 suggests that aging population, and we are referred to as the silver horde or the great tsunami, will dampen global economic growth for two decades to come. So we are seen as the burden that the young must carry.
The Prevalence of Ageism
No wonder ageism is alive and well. It is also prevalent, ubiquitous, and insidious according to the World Health Global Organization report from 21. Now what saddens me is that our experience and knowledge is dismissed as outdated or completely discarded.
But what saddens me even more is the emotional and mental turmoil that age discrimination creates. You see, as humans, we are wired to seek connection, to seek acceptance, to seek belonging. And when we are rejected, we experience emotions of humiliation and shame.
These emotions, they register in our brains as physical pain. The emotions are so corrosive that they trigger a stress response in our body, which leads to elevated cortisol levels, that leads to inflammation, and inflammation sustained over time leads to a wide range of ailments, such as diabetes or cardiovascular ailments. And sometimes things can get even more serious.
You don’t need more evidence from me to make a connection between the effect of ageist attitudes on our mental and physical health and consequent burden this places on health care and social services. And considering that roughly 30% of Australian people is over 50, there are good reasons to challenge age-related issues, especially in the workplace. And yet we don’t.
The Taboo of Ageism
Ageism is hidden from open scrutiny. And even in this age of increased focus on diversity and inclusion, somehow it falls through the cracks. Like, let’s not talk about it, it’s a bit of a taboo, let’s just not touch that.
No one is truly talking about it, and seldom would anyone admit that they are ageist. But we do joke about it, as if humor somehow makes it acceptable. From wisecracking birthday cards to online funny memes, the message is very clear.
Being old is not desirable. I give you another example. The mega fashion and cosmetic house Christian Dior made model Cara Delevingne face the line of their anti-wrinkle creams. She’s 32.
The Wisdom of Elders
Makes sense, right? So why did we lose respect for the wisdom of our elders? And we know, short of early death, everybody will age.
My observation after 60 years in the world of obsessed with youth is that older people confront us with the inevitable changes that aging delivers to the appearance of our bodies and to our mental agility. You see, we don’t want to hire the reminder of these inevitable fates. We want to keep them out of sight and out of mind.
But in this act of exclusion, we do ourselves a great disservice. We miss out on the richness of the combined experience where we could do so much more together. Indigenous cultures do inclusion of ages very well.
For example, our Australian indigenous folk, our elders, they are custodians of ancestral knowledge. They pass down the stories and songs that carry the dreaming from generation to generation. There are such important lessons we can learn from them about interconnectedness of all things.
The Village Mentality
An old adage comes to mind about how it takes a village to raise a child, meaning that the well-being on any one person is always and inextricably linked to the well-being of the whole, of the family, a clan, a community, a society. To me, this is a reminder that every age has a role to play. And when we discriminate based on age, we risk fragmenting the very village needed to sustain our world.
So what are we to do? First step, the best step is start dismantling your own prejudices about aging. Look beyond the stereotypes and challenge your assumptions.
And most importantly, shine the light on it because it’s hidden. It thrives in the shadows. For example, if you pay attention to the language used in a company’s job ad, you might see some words typically associated with youth, such as “fresh perspective” or “new ideas.”
Point it out and have that conversation. And if you are a leader, take a closer look at the decisions you make about hiring, about promotions, development, and exciting projects. These decisions are revealing and start talking about ageism because when we start talking about anything, it becomes visible and soon action follows.
Leading the Change
Don’t hold back. For things to change, we must really lead the change that we want to see in our companies, with our friends, in our families. Remember Benjamin from the beginning of this talk?
Well, he went out and started mentoring younger people and sharing his experience freely and generously and something remarkable happened. Word spread about the silver-haired techie with great ideas and Silicon Valley gods started seeking him out again. He became visible.
I imagine he smiled and said to himself, “they finally get it. It takes a village.” Truth is, we all need a village where every age can thrive and where the number on your birth certificate is irrelevant.
Because we are all aging and denying it won’t make it disappear. We can choose to embrace it and build a village where age is celebrated, where wrinkles are just a beautiful testament of a life well-lived and where ageism becomes a relic of the past. So today, I know it’s a long road ahead.
The First Step
I’ll leave you with the immortal words of Lao Tzu. He said, “the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.” It is my hope that this talk will be a reminder that we can rebuild the village together. We just need to take the first step.