Have you ever been rejected by your industry because of ageism? What was the reason?

In 2017, more than 18,000 people reported age discrimination in their workplace. The number of age discrimination complaints changes by year, and if you think 18,000 complaints sound a lot, be aware that in 2008 (during the latest recession), more than 24,000 ageism complaints were filed. 58% of employees say they are aware of age bias when somebody enters their 50’s.
People above 50 are more attuned to discrimination in the workplace, and 33% of people think their age is putting their career at risk. 33% of employees above 45 who feel they could potentially lose their job in the next year believe their age could be the reason.
It turns out that the concern of losing your job due to age discrimination is a genuine possibility since 7% of people state being laid off, fired, or forced out of a job because of age discrimination. 15% of employees do not fancy a manager who is ages 70+. Seniority has its limits, which is particularly interesting since some of the world’s most influential business leaders are between 70 to 95.
1 in 5 employees aged 40+ report not receiving the same opportunity for at least one job due to age discrimination. It’s no wonder it takes older employees way longer to find a job.

I worked as a programmer for 25 years in the same company. The title “programmer” must be enough to guess why I’m not working there now. At this point, everyone knows that ageism is rampant in technology. The problem is, it starts much earlier than in other industries.
As soon as you hit 35, it becomes harder to prove yourself to employers and undertake serious projects. And there’s only one reason for that. In the minds of people, older age, instead of highlighting more experience and a more robust background, represents a slower process, poor health, and declining intelligence.

In 2015, Mike, a friend of mine, had an interview with a company that needed an accountant. Apparently, despite his energetic, fun character, he was rejected because he was not relatable. Mike said that the moment he opened the door and said greetings to the interviewer, he felt that this was not happening. The interviewer didn’t care and listened to Mike’s answers and explanations. Mike also told me that the interviewer was asking the questions to do the process, not to find the right person; the interviewer had already made up his mind. The reason was unclear for us, but they would mention it rather than say he’s not relatable if they had any reason to reject Mike.

My mom retired after 25 years of work when she was 42. After a while, she realized retirement income could not make up for all our expenses. So, when she was in her late 40s, she started looking for job opportunities wherever possible. Every place my mom applied for said that they would’ve hired her if she was around 10-15 years younger. Recruiters didn’t care about her skills and experience. They prioritized women in their 20s or early 30s solely because they looked more youthful and more appealing to the customers.