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1 – 10 of over 1000Purpose: This paper aims to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between gendered ageism and sustainable work in Croatian context through the perspective of the…
Abstract
Purpose: This paper aims to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between gendered ageism and sustainable work in Croatian context through the perspective of the founders of the Association of Women 50+, the first association which gathers women aged 50 and above in the Republic of Croatia.
Method: Using a case study approach, semi-structured interviews with four founders of the Association of Women 50+ were conducted and the questions were divided into three sets. The Transcripts were analysed through unitising data and then the answers were fit into those three sets.
Findings: Gendered ageism represents a serious obstacle to employability and work progression for older women. Looking at the gendered ageism in the realm of the workplace through the eyes of four women, founders of Association of Women 50+, the first association in the Republic of Croatia which empowers women aged 50 and above discovers that gender ageism must not be ignored.
Research limitations: The results derived from this case study cannot be generalised since they are based on a single case in one country and the interview sample is small.
Social implications: The results derived from this case study can serve as a valuable resource for national political decision-makers to get a deeper understanding of the relationship between gendered ageism and sustainable work in the Republic of Croatia.
Originality/value of paper: The paper represents the first research on the relationship between gendered ageism and sustainable work in the Republic of Croatia for women aged 50 and above.
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The purpose of this paper is to show the potential of international human rights law to raise awareness of the international community about ageism and its three aspects – old age…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to show the potential of international human rights law to raise awareness of the international community about ageism and its three aspects – old age discrimination, stereotyping and prejudices against older persons. The author evaluates the ability of international human rights law to encourage states to take action against these phenomena and looks for new solutions. The author also intends to examine if there are international law instruments compelling states to reject stereotypes and prejudices on older persons if there is no treaty devoted to them.
Design/methodology/approach
The author applies methods relevant to legal science. The core human rights treaties, soft law documents and activities of human rights bodies are selected, analysed and interpreted.
Findings
The core human rights treaties require going beyond their literal interpretation to observe older persons' rights. States should interpret them in good faith, relying on the ageing mainstreaming approach. Instruction to states on how to do so lies in the soft law and output of the international human rights bodies. However, there is also room for improvement. Therefore, the author proposes adopting a targeted resolution on counteracting ageism and its components, updating positions by international treaty bodies, and involving various human rights procedures and specialised agencies in the fight against intangible dimensions of ageism.
Originality/value
It is the first study analysing awareness about stereotyping and prejudices against older persons from international human rights law. The author indicates untapped possibilities of the fight against ageism and its intangible dimensions under international law.
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Mengyang Zhang and Sarah Gibney
The purpose of this paper is to explore the association between experiencing ageism in the workplace and working conditions on perceived job sustainability among current workers…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the association between experiencing ageism in the workplace and working conditions on perceived job sustainability among current workers aged 40 and over in Europe, within the context of positive and active ageing strategies and programmes.
Design/methodology/approach
Data are from the 6th round of the European Working Conditions Survey (n=22,229), and the analytical sample contains adults aged 40 and older in 28 European Member States grouped by employment regime: social-democratic regime, corporatist regime, liberal regime, Southern European regime, post-socialist corporatist regime and post-socialist liberal regime. Perceived job sustainability estimated based on whether the respondent thinks (yes/no) that they can do their current job or similar role until the age of 60 or in next five years if the respondent is aged 56 and over. Experience of ageism in the workplace (yes/no) is self-reported. Generalised structural equation modelling was used to control for both individual- and organisational-level influences and to correct for potential endogeneity in estimating the impact of experienced ageism on perceived job sustainability. In addition, employment regimes are included in the model to investigate differences in this relationship by setting.
Findings
Adults who have not experienced ageism are more likely to have positive perceptions of job sustainability, net of other factors and employment regime. Job sustainability is positively associated with age, being male, being in good health status and higher levels of work satisfaction.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitation of this study is that data are cross-sectional, and time variant factors and individual fixed characteristics are excluded from the estimation. The results are influenced by the self-reported data about experienced ageism and evaluation of workplace environment, which may lead to potential endogeneity caused by unobservable personal characteristics such as personality type.
Originality/value
Although the average reported prevalence of ageism in the workplace is 3.4 per cent across the 28 European Union Member States, this study shows that ageism imposes significant negative influence on current workers. This study has highlighted the interrelationship between ageism, workplace satisfaction and job sustainability in this comparative setting. Efforts to reduce ageism in the workplace are likely to lead to improved working conditions and job sustainability.
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While age is receiving increased attention in the literature on workplace diversity, it remains under researched. Intergenerational contact and its relationship to ageism require…
Abstract
Purpose
While age is receiving increased attention in the literature on workplace diversity, it remains under researched. Intergenerational contact and its relationship to ageism require further research to understand their mechanisms and impacts. The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
Using semi-structured interviews in the Norwegian technical industry, this paper explores how generations are formed and how this influences intergenerational contact.
Findings
Through the lens of ageism, the findings reveal that generational stereotypes are strongly held by respondents, and may affect how members of the generations interact in the workplace. Further, the data demonstrate that both age and generation are socially constructed, and age discrimination is perceived by both older and younger workers.
Originality/value
The study has relevance for managers who are overseeing organizations with considerable age differences.
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Jacqueline Granleese and Gemma Sayer
This study set out to explore employees' experience and understandings of gender and age in higher education to identify if women in higher education experienced the double…
Abstract
Purpose
This study set out to explore employees' experience and understandings of gender and age in higher education to identify if women in higher education experienced the double jeopardy of gendered ageism. Further the role of physical attractiveness and appearance in higher education is explored.
Design/methodology/approach
Rich data were afforded by the qualitative method of in‐depth interviewing of 48 employees in a matched by gender, age grouping and academic status design. The recorded transcripts were subject to content and interpretative phenomenological analyses.
Findings
This study supports previous findings in different workplace settings that women, both academics and non‐academics, experience the double jeopardy of being discriminated against on the grounds of their age and gender in a way that men do not experience. Emergent themes are women: question they experience age discrimination as any perceived discrimination may be gender related and not only age‐related (uncertainty); are socialised to tolerate acceptable levels (tolerance); grow to love the perpetrators (identify with the status quo). Physical attractiveness and appearance are seen as relevant to the workplace in higher education. Non‐academics see academics as being career driven by their lack of attractiveness and or poor appearance. Male academics perceive women academics as unattractive and dressing down in appearance. Young female academics play down their “looks”, i.e. attractiveness and appearance so the effect is minimal (minimisation) as they perceive these be a disadvantage in their careers. Male academics do not report such considerations. “Lookism” thus presents a further prejudice that female academics experience beyond gendered ageism.
Research limitations/implications
One experienced interviewer was used to enhance consistency of interviewing but there may be concerns about possible interviewer effects and the generalisability of the findings within higher education.
Practical implications
Having identified and elucidated “lookism” as a concern for female academics, its extent and sequalae in higher education may be addressed.
Originality/value
This is the first study to show female academics experience the triple jeopardy of gendered ageism and how they look i.e.“lookism”.
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Older people feel that ageism underlies many of their more specific concerns. A number of pieces of research carried out on behalf of the Inter‐Ministerial Group on Older People…
Abstract
Older people feel that ageism underlies many of their more specific concerns. A number of pieces of research carried out on behalf of the Inter‐Ministerial Group on Older People also reveal the importance of the Government addressing the ageist attitudes to older people that affect their ability to participate in society.
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Mohammad Rababa, Ammar M. Hammouri and Sami Al-Rawashdeh
This study aims to examine the association between nurses’ ageism and their knowledge about aging and socio-demographic and professional characteristics in recent international…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the association between nurses’ ageism and their knowledge about aging and socio-demographic and professional characteristics in recent international nursing research studies.
Design/methodology/approach
An extensive search of seven databases covering papers since 2000 was undertaken and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were followed.
Findings
Ageism among nurses is still poorly understood. It is evident that ageism is associated with poor nurses’ level of knowledge about aging. A range of nurses’ demographical and professional characteristics have been examined as potential predictors of ageism, but they were inconsistent with positive, negative and neutral associations.
Originality/value
There is a lack of robustly designed studies investigating the association of nurses’ level of knowledge about aging and their socio-demographical and professional characteristics to ageism. Future descriptive-correlational and interventional studies are recommended to understand and target ageism in health-care settings.
Ian Glover and Mohamed Branine
Offers a fairly general discussion of the significance of ageism in work and employment and then proceeds to suggest that labour process researchers might very usefully pay some…
Abstract
Offers a fairly general discussion of the significance of ageism in work and employment and then proceeds to suggest that labour process researchers might very usefully pay some attention to it. Writers about the labour process tend to emphasize the issue of labour exploitation and gender and race discrimination but, to some extent, seem to overlook the problem of ageism in work and employment. In this context, considers the character of links between a number of economic and social phenomena and ageism, namely life cycles, divisions of labour, managerialism and industrialization. Specific aspects of ageism in the UK are discussed and the need for debate and policy formulation about the issue of ageism is called for.
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Amitabh Anand, Liji James, Aparna Varma and Manoranjan Dhal
Ageism has deleteriously influenced individuals and society for nearly half a century. Despite receiving increased attention, it remains under-researched regarding how it might be…
Abstract
Purpose
Ageism has deleteriously influenced individuals and society for nearly half a century. Despite receiving increased attention, it remains under-researched regarding how it might be reduced in the workplace. Even though its prevalence and allure, review studies on workplace ageism (WA) are also scarce, and thus a review is warranted.
Design/methodology/approach
To fill the preceding void, this study will systematically review the existing literature on WA using data from the past four decades.
Findings
This study identified the various antecedents and the intervention mechanism through which WA may be reduced. Additionally, through reviews, the authors advance the research by offering promising avenues for future research.
Originality/value
This review contributes to human resources managers and will inspire future scholars to delve deeper into combating age discrimination, stereotypes and bias toward employees in workplaces.
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Barbara H. Chasin and Laura Kramer
Age and gender intersect, often lowering quality of life for older women. Microlevel patterns include ignoring older women in one’s presence, flattening their identities to only…
Abstract
Age and gender intersect, often lowering quality of life for older women. Microlevel patterns include ignoring older women in one’s presence, flattening their identities to only their status as older women. Macrolevel patterns include the erasure of older women, with cultural (media) representations, organizational practices and policies and social policies that ignore the existence of older women or distort their characteristics in ways that diminish the likelihood of equitable treatment. Using autoethnography, conversations with a small group of older women, and scholarly and popular literature, we describe varieties of microlevel experiences and responses to them. Focusing on macrolevel erasure, we describe some of the effects of combined ageism and sexism, and we look at activists’ and organizational responses aimed at changing public awareness and attitudes toward age and gendering. Policy changes are suggested to make the social treatment of older women more equitable, including attention to housing, health care, and public education. We note specific past achievements that demonstrate policy change is possible.
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