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1 – 10 of over 21000Existing research tends to conceptualize age- and gender-based discrimination as distinct and unrelated social phenomena. A growing body of scholarship, however, highlights the…
Abstract
Purpose
Existing research tends to conceptualize age- and gender-based discrimination as distinct and unrelated social phenomena. A growing body of scholarship, however, highlights the importance of conceptualizing ageism as potentially gendered, and gender discrimination as inherently shaped by age. Using an intersectional theoretical perspective, this chapter examines how gender and age combine to shape women’s and men’s experiences of workplace mistreatment.
Methodology/approach
The data are obtained from the U.S. General Social Survey. The analysis begins with descriptive statistics, showing how rates of perceived age and gender mistreatment vary for men and women of different age groups. Multivariate logistic regressions follow.
Findings
Experiences of workplace mistreatment are significantly shaped by both gender and age. Among both men and women, workers in their 30s and 40s report relatively low levels of perceived age-based discrimination, compared to older or younger workers. It is precisely during this interval of relatively low rates of perceived age-based discrimination that women’s (but not men’s) perceptions of gender-based mistreatment rises dramatically. At all ages, women are significantly more likely to face either gender- or age-based discrimination than men, but the gap is especially large among workers in their 40s.
Originality/value
Women tend to perceive age- and gender-based mistreatment at different times of life, but a concurrent examination of gender- and age-based mistreatment reveals that women’s working lives are characterized by high rates of mistreatment throughout their careers, in a way that men’s are not. The results highlight the importance of conceptualizing gender and age as intersecting systems of inequality.
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Nick Drydakis, Anna Paraskevopoulou and Vasiliki Bozani
The study examines whether age intersects with gender and race during the initial stage of the hiring process and affects access to vacancies outcomes and wage sorting.
Abstract
Purpose
The study examines whether age intersects with gender and race during the initial stage of the hiring process and affects access to vacancies outcomes and wage sorting.
Design/methodology/approach
In order to answer the research question, the study collects data from four simultaneous field experiments in England. The study compares the labour market outcomes of younger White British men with those of older White British men and women, and with those of older Black British men and women. The study concentrates on low-skilled vacancies in hospitality and sales in the private sector.
Findings
The results of this study indicate that older White British men and women, as well as older Black British men and women, experience occupational access constraints and are sorted into lower-paid jobs than younger White British men. The level of age discrimination is found to be higher for Black British men and women. In addition, Black British women experience the highest level of age discrimination. These patterns may well be in line with prejudices against racial minority groups and stereotypical sexist beliefs that the physical strengths and job performance of women decline earlier than those do for men.
Practical implications
If prejudices against older individuals are present, then anti-discrimination legislation may be the appropriate response, especially for racial minorities and women. Eliminating age discrimination in selection requires firms to adopt inclusive human resources (HR) policies at the earliest stages of the recruitment process.
Originality/value
This research presents for the first-time comparisons of access to vacancies and wage sorting between younger male racial majorities and older male racial majorities, older female racial majorities, older male racial minorities, and older female racial minorities. In addition, the driven mechanism of the assigned differences is explored. Because the study has attempted to minimise the negative employer stereotypes vis-à-vis older employees, with respect to the employees' motivation, productivity, and health, such prejudices against older individuals may be considered taste-based discrimination.
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Robert H. Faley and Lawrence S. Kleiman
Due to declining birth rates and increasing life expectancies, the developed countries can expect progressively ageing workforces comparative to those of Canada and the USA. As a…
Abstract
Due to declining birth rates and increasing life expectancies, the developed countries can expect progressively ageing workforces comparative to those of Canada and the USA. As a result, employers will be less able to draw on a relatively inexpensive, younger labour force for replacements, and in order to maintain current employee levels there will be a greater need for the increasingly ageing working population to stay at work longer. An outline of some of the age‐related regulatory practices of the USA may indicate the way ahead for other developed countries as they try to introduce greater governmental protection of their older workforces.
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Ageism refers to the systematic, cultural devaluation of agedness and concomitant discrimination against older adults that is endemic to Western industrialised societies. Age-based…
Abstract
Ageism refers to the systematic, cultural devaluation of agedness and concomitant discrimination against older adults that is endemic to Western industrialised societies. Age-based discrimination is expressed through the numerous, taken-for-granted, negative stereotypes that equate oldness with frailty, senility, asexuality, obsolescence and loss of attractiveness. It is also evident in the institutional policies and everyday practices that both subtly and overtly exclude older adults from full and meaningful access to resources and opportunities in various organisational settings, including the workplace. This chapter explores the ways that ageism shapes and constrains the experiences and prospects of older workers as they endeavour to obtain or retain employment and/or access to training and promotions. I will discuss how age-based stereotypes and discrimination are gendered, resulting in differential impacts on older men and women seeking employment or those who are currently employed. I will further consider how the older body more generally and appearance in particular are the focal points of ageist assumptions, norms and practices in the workplace. I will conclude by reflecting on the implications and outcomes of age-based exclusion and discrimination on the lives of older male and female employees.
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Carolina Castagnetti, Luisa Rosti and Marina Töpfer
This paper analyzes the age pay gap in Italy (22%), particularly as it is of interest in an aging society and as it may affect social cohesion. Instead of the traditional approach…
Abstract
This paper analyzes the age pay gap in Italy (22%), particularly as it is of interest in an aging society and as it may affect social cohesion. Instead of the traditional approach for model selection, we use a machine-learning approach (post double robust Least Absolute Shrinkage Operator [LASSO]). This approach allows us to reduce Omitted Variable Bias (OVB), given data restrictions, and to obtain a robust estimate of the conditional age pay gap. We then decompose the conditional gap and analyze the impact of four further potential sources of heterogeneity (workers', sectors', and occupations' permanent heterogeneity as well as sample selection bias). The results suggest that age discrimination in pay is only perceived but not real in Italy for both men and women.
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The purpose of this paper is to use neo‐institutional theory to examine organizational responses to the age discrimination at work legislation, recently introduced in the UK. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to use neo‐institutional theory to examine organizational responses to the age discrimination at work legislation, recently introduced in the UK. The paper examines reasons managers advanced for the introduction of human resource (HR) policies about age discrimination, in addition to legal compliance.
Design/methodology/approach
A longitudinal survey of HR managers and four case studies within a range of UK organizations are used to elicit data on organizational responses.
Findings
Unsurprisingly, the introduction of the new legislation has created strong coercive pressure on organizations. However, the results also provide evidence of mimetic and normative pressures within organizations. There is a complex range of factors that influence changes to policies and practices. In addition, the impact of organizational context, manager stereotypes and public and private sector differences are examined. The implications for explaining coercive change in organizations in terms of different legal philosophies and for future research are discussed.
Originality/value
This paper adds to a currently sparse literature on the introduction of age discrimination policies by organizations and uses a neo‐institutional framework to examine the forces that may affect the introduction of these policies over and above legislation.
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Glen D. Moyes, Patricia A. Williams and Bruce Koch
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of age and gender upon the level of job satisfaction of accounting professionals as well as examine if gender and age lead…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of age and gender upon the level of job satisfaction of accounting professionals as well as examine if gender and age lead to differences in their perceptions of work‐related attributes such as advancement opportunities and relations with supervisors.
Design/methodology/approach
Questionnaires were mailed to 1,000 accounting professionals and 245 useable questionnaires were received (193 were returned due to incorrect address) resulting in a 30 percent response rate. The questionnaire was designed with a six‐point Likert scale to measure the respondent perceptions concerning 78 factors that may influence their level of job satisfaction. Factor analysis with a varimax rotation reduced the 78 factors down to nine factor groups. These factors or work‐related attributes became the nine independent variables for six regression models. The sample was subdivided based by age and gender differently for each of the six regression models. The dependent variable represented the level of job satisfaction perceived by the accounting professionals surveyed.
Findings
As a result of the six regression models, the six following factors or work‐related attributes are significant to age and/or gender: job fulfillment, treatment by peers and supervisors, promotion and advancement opportunities, supervisors, gender discrimination and employee relations with coworkers. The remaining three factors or work‐related attributes are not significant with age and/or gender: amount of compensation, fringe benefits provided and amount of workload required.
Research limitations/implications
The sample includes alumni from a private university located in a large metropolitan area on the east coast of the USA, the results are not representative of all accounting professionals. Thus, our findings cannot be generalized to the larger population of American accounting professionals.
Practical implications
Employers can incorporate the findings of this study in their organizations to assist in improving the overall level of job satisfaction of their accounting professional employees, especially involving gender or age issues.
Originality/value
This study shows boards of directors and executive managers which specific work‐related attributes to improve for the purpose of increasing the retention rate and decreasing turnover rate of their accounting professionals in critical positions within those organizations.
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Matt Mueller and Brian H. Kleiner
Outlines the role of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and covers the Civil Rights Act 1964 before briefly mentioning the Age discrimination in Employment Act…
Abstract
Outlines the role of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and covers the Civil Rights Act 1964 before briefly mentioning the Age discrimination in Employment Act 1967, equal pay Act 1963, Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 and other laws. Provides statistics from the EEOC website and also looks at affirmative action. Considers recent developments affecting Manufacturers in relation to race, sex age and disabilities, citing case law examples. Discusses reverse discrimination and concludes that companies need to keep pace with developments.
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Kerim Özcan, Belkıs Özkara and Duygu Kızıldağ
The purpose of this study is to investigate discrimination areas within public hospitals and discuss the potential reasons that will provide a contributive perspective on reducing…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate discrimination areas within public hospitals and discuss the potential reasons that will provide a contributive perspective on reducing discriminative behaviors.
Design/methodology/approach
The research was conducted in public hospitals in Afyonkarahisar, a city in the central‐west part of Turkey. Two distinct approaches were used to gather data, one of which was a questionnaire that was responded by 351 health care employees. And, the second method semi‐structured interviews were conducted with five health care employees from each hospital.
Findings
The research reveals that discriminative behaviors are not part of organizational life to a problematical extent in public hospitals. However, the dependence on governmental policies forces ideological/political engagements to play significant roles in public hospitals determination of discriminated groups. Professional solidarity, status‐based stratification and embedded codes of patriarchal culture are other crucial dynamics, first two and last one causing, respectively, vocational and gender discrimination.
Originality/value
This paper is an exploratory study focusing on discrimination among employees and from management to employees in the health care industry. Two distinct methods are used together to understand and analyze the areas and dynamics of discriminative behaviors.
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The purpose of this paper is to report on an analysis of direct age discrimination cases by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and the UK courts and employment…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report on an analysis of direct age discrimination cases by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and the UK courts and employment tribunals over an 11-year period. The paper focusses upon age stereotyping towards older workers and analyses whether it is endorsed at the European level and/or national level.
Design/methodology/approach
This research has analysed a sample of 100 employment tribunal judgments concerning direct age discrimination together with 28 CJEU decisions on direct age discrimination.
Findings
This paper highlights that there are a number of cases in which age stereotyping has been endorsed at the CJEU level. By contrast, the UK courts and employment tribunals have adopted a more robust approach.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitation is that it only considers case law from the European Court and the influence on the UK case law, without analysing the eventual decisions of the other EU member states.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the debate with regard to the approach of the CJEU and the UK courts and employment tribunals in tackling age stereotyping and is the first to examine the influence the CJEU decisions has had on the UK jurisprudence over the period studied.
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