Ageism at Work: Deconstructing Age and Gender in the Discriminating Labour Market
© 2021
The Canadian population is aging, bringing with it an increasing number of social and economic challenges. With the aging of the workforce, the reconceptualization of older workers and retirement, the increasing share of women in the labour force, the elimination of mandatory retirement, the fluctuating economy, and the changes to the pension system, barriers to employment for older workers, such as ageism, need to be of central concern.
Ageism at Work examines the subjective experiences of older workers in Canada and explores how they negotiate ageism and manage their interactions in the employment setting. Further, this book looks at the intersection between age and gender and the pervasiveness of gendered ageism in the labour market. Finally, this book examines employers’ attitudes towards older workers quantitatively, while also exploring their first-hand accounts about them through qualitative inquiry. Understanding how ageism plays out in the labour market, how it intersects with sexism, and its consequences on a personal level are critical to moving the discussion on discrimination and human rights forward in Canada.
Product Details
- World Rights
- Page Count: 240 pages
- Illustrations: 1
- Dimensions: 6.0in x 0.5in x 9.0in
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Reviews
"This important book provides a rich longitudinal account of the pervasiveness, manifestation, and disturbing societal and personal impacts of ageism and gendered ageism in the Canadian labour market."
Pnina Alon-Shenker, Associate Professor, Department of Law and Business, Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University"This book contributes to our understanding of what it means to be an ‘older’ worker and how potential employers view older workers. It sheds light on the contradictions older workers face, the strategies they use in trying to overcome these contradictions, and the contradictions in employers’ attitudes and practices in making hiring decisions based on ageist assumptions. The book adds an important piece to the puzzle of the impact of ageism on Canadian society, in general, and the workplace, in particular."
Deborah K. van den Hoonaard, Professor Emerita, Department of Sociology, St. Thomas University -
Author Information
Ellie Berger is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology at Nipissing University. -
Table of contents
Foreword by Victor Marshall
Acknowledgements
1. Exploring Ageism
2. Organizational and Personal Characteristics Influencing Employers’ Attitudes Toward Older Workers
3. “Prejudice is Always Just Under the Surface”: Older Workers’ Perceptions of Ageism in the Labour Market
4. “I Feel Like a Castaway; Like an Old Shoe That is of No Use Anymore”: Aging Identities
5. “The One Thing You Need is Your Bottle of Dye”: Managing Age Discrimination in the Job Search
6. “If Someone’s Looking Creaky and Shaky…You Don’t Hire Them”: Employers’ Qualitative Accounts about Older Workers
7. Reflections on Ageism at Work: Conclusions and Implications
References
Appendix. Research Methods and Data Analysis
List of Figures
Figure 1. Older Workers’ Labour Market ExperiencesList of Tables
Table 1. Sociodemographic Characteristics of Sample in Study #1: Employer Survey
Table 2. Frequency Distributions on Positive and Negative Attitudinal Statements About Older Workers
Table 3. Factor Structure for Employers’ Attitudes Toward Older Workers
Table 4. Means [standard deviations] from ANOVAs and t-tests on Characteristics of Employers
Table 5. Sociodemographic Characteristics of Sample in Study #2: Older Worker Interviews
Table 6. Sociodemographic Characteristics of Sample in Study #3: Older Worker Survey
Table 7. Sociodemographic Characteristics of Sample in Study #4: Employer Interviews
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