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1 – 10 of 716Purpose: 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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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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Ageism refers to the systematic, cultural devaluation of agedness and concomitant discrimination against older adults that is endemic to Western industrialised societies…
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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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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Existing 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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Iiris Aaltio, Hanna Maria Salminen and Sirpa Koponen
The purpose of this study is to identify the different research strands concerning studies related to human resource management (HRM) and ageing employees. More specifically, the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to identify the different research strands concerning studies related to human resource management (HRM) and ageing employees. More specifically, the paper analyses how age and gender are understood and conceptualized in these studies.
Design/methodology/approach
An integrative literature review concerning ageing employees and HRM with special reference to gender is the approach taken in this paper.
Findings
Recent studies relating to HRM and ageing employees were categorized and analysed. The paper concludes that there is a need for a more holistic understanding of the concept of age in studies related to ageing employees and HRM and also argues that the intersection of age and gender is under-researched in the field of HRM.
Practical implications
Based on literature review the paper outlined directions for how gender-neutral age management studies may be extended. A pluralist understanding of age and gender would help to understand the different needs and expectations that ageing employees may have in terms of HR practices and policies. Institutional practices and legislation can promote equality, but organizational contexts, both internal and external, should be scanned in order to recognize possible ageist or age-blind practices. Ageing women in particular have the burden of being recognized in terms of chronological stereotyped changes that might damage their work and career.
Originality/value
Research on ageing employees and HRM with special reference to gender is limited and therefore an integrative literature review is needed.
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Krista Jaakson and Mariya Dedova
This study aims to answer two research questions: first, to what extent can workplace bullying be explained by ageism? And second, does the likelihood of workplace bullying…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to answer two research questions: first, to what extent can workplace bullying be explained by ageism? And second, does the likelihood of workplace bullying increase when age interacts with gender and ethnic minority?
Design/methodology/approach
The authors report results from a survey carried out in 11 organizations in Estonia (N = 1,614) using the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (Einarsen et al., 2009).
Findings
The results show that ageism does not explain bullying in Estonia. As in some earlier studies, older age correlates negatively with negative acts, and women report less work-related bullying than men. These findings were unexpected because Estonia's post-socialist background and the highest gender wage gap in Europe suggested otherwise. However, there is gendered ageism in work-related bullying such that older women report more negative acts in their workplace. Respondents from ethnic minority groups do not experience more bullying in general, nor in combination with age. Surprisingly, managers reported both person- and work-related bullying more than employees with no subordinates.
Originality/value
The study contributes to intersectionality literature with a view to workplace bullying in post-socialist study context.
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Arménio Rego, Andreia Vitória, António Tupinambá, Dálcio Reis Júnior, Dálcio Reis, Miguel Pina e Cunha and Rui Lourenço-Gil
The purpose of this paper is to explore the Brazilian managers’ attitudes toward older workers, and how those attitudes explain HRM decisions in hypothetical scenarios.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the Brazilian managers’ attitudes toward older workers, and how those attitudes explain HRM decisions in hypothetical scenarios.
Design/methodology/approach
Brazilian managers (n=201) reported their attitudes toward older workers and their decisions in scenarios involving an older vs a younger applicant/worker.
Findings
In spite of expressing positive attitudes toward older workers, a significant number of managers chose a younger one even when the older worker is described as more productive. To build a better understanding of how attitudes predict decisions, it is necessary to identify attitudinal profiles and the interplay between attitudinal dimensions, rather than simply studying each dimension separately. Attitudinal profiling also shows that some managers discriminate against younger workers, a finding, that is, ignored when (only) regressions are taken into account. The managers’ attitudes and behavioral intentions relate with their age. Evidence does not support the double jeopardy effect against older women workers.
Research limitations/implications
The sample is small. The scenarios cover a reduced number of HRM decisions. The data about attitudes and decisions were collected simultaneously from a single source. The findings may be influenced by idiosyncrasies of the context. Future studies should also consider real situations, not hypothetical ones.
Practical implications
Efforts must be made (e.g. via training and development) to raise managers’ awareness about the consequences of ageism in organizations.
Originality/value
Empirical studies about managers’ perceptions/attitudes toward older workers are scarce. Studies in the Brazilian context are even scarcer.
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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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