What startups are fighting ageism in the workplace?
Combating Age discrimination: Organizations are working to Fight Ageism
World Economic Forum proposes seven essential principles for a healthy and sound workplace. Establishing an age-neutral workplace is the first of these seven principles. By supporting an inclusive atmosphere and preventing age-related discrimination, the principles aim to emphasize all the employees’ contributions and focus on the value of a multi-generational organization. Following principle creates an inclusive culture that must value the contributions of all employees and be supportive of a multi-generational work environment. “If we could move over ageism, our society could develop completely new service lines,” said Catherine Collinson, CEO of the nonprofit Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies. “There’s one example I often refer to: I need professional clothing to go to work, and with each passing year, I’m having more difficulty finding something trendy and appropriate. If everything goes well, I may look for an encore career in the world of fashion to help this overlooked industry!”
According to Collinson, many folks, especially Hollywood stars, ultimately wind up apologizing for their age. She recalled seeing an award-giving event when a lovely 50 years old actress joked to herself that she should dim the lights to disguise her age – “but that wasn’t humorous.” “We are gradually evolving but, there is still more to be done. That’s why we ask for the help of paid or volunteered change makers and change agents,” said Marci Alboher, Encore Vice President of Strategic Communications.
“The acceptability of senior workers has improved, but not as fast as I would like,” said Tim Driver, founder of http://retirementjobs.com/. When his dad lost his job at the age of 60 to a worker 20 years younger, Tim’s ambition to create job opportunities for senior workers became personal. “Discrimination is a real possibility. You are not the only one who has experienced this. We are proud of our Certified Age Friendly Employer program. It includes 100 significant American firms (at least) that have met age-friendly workplace standards such as rewards for part-time employment and caregiving, as well as workplace diversity. That program attracted the attention of the US Senate Aging Committee and the Older Worker Opportunity Act. Those organizations wanted to promote the businesses who were doing it the right way and asked if we’d be interested in cooperation.”
The following companies advocate these guiding principles: Intel, Home Instead, Deloitte, Nestle Skin Health, S&P Global, Philips, etc.
In many workplaces, older workers are an essential part. Ageism in the workplace may not seem so obvious at first. But fortunately, some start-ups are fighting against ageism in the workplace. Several of the world’s leading organizations have developed guiding principles for age-friendly businesses. These principles help companies create workplaces that embrace and support workers of all ages. Five companies that care about their older workers are:
• Liberty Tax Service
• H&M
• Wegmans
• TJX Companies
• Nike
The nature of a startup is “bricolage,” which means “working with what is at hand,” so you can expect the minimum amount of ageism in a startup workplace. There certainly are multiple startups that do everything in their power to make a difference in decreasing the amount of ageism in other workplaces as well.
Professionals believe that startups will propose the next effective business model that changes the way companies treat seniors in workplaces. This belief results from the bricolage nature of startups and how much they value human resources.
I don’t know of any companies that aim to destroy ageism, if that’s what you mean. Please let me know if you find any because they are critical. And if you mean companies and start-ups that do not practice ageism in the workplace, I think there’s no specific company like that; there are just industries that practice ageism more than the rest. For instance, many people agree that ageism is a big problem in technology. However, it is not the same for other industries.