Ageism

Ageism is stereotyping and discriminating against individuals because of their age. The term is also used to describe discrimination against teenagers and children, including ignoring their ideas because they are too young or assuming that they should behave in certain ways because of their age. Older people usually experience age discrimination when trying to be employed. People over a certain age are often seen as less useful in the work place because of their age. Age discrimination in employment can include not interviewing someone because they are too young or too old to ‘fit in’ with other staff, not employing mature workers because it’s assumed that they’ll soon retire or are not as useful, or forcing someone to retire, because of their age. Age does not affect someone's abilities or skills and should not be a huge factor in employment. Accepting people for who they are would make this problem and many others go away.