Yahoo Finance 'I kept thinking: what is wrong with me?' – your experiences of ageism
People just think I’m a mouthy youth
I look really young. I am asked to show my ID on a regular basis. I know it’s because I’m short, slim and don’t have wrinkles – but what this means is that I’ve been subjected to ageism in the workplace forever. When you’re 35 with a decade’s worth of experience under your belt it’s humiliating when people tell you “When you’ve got more experience you’ll understand ...” or people barely five years older comment “It’s so nice to see graduates speaking up in meetings”. The best comment was being told age 40 to “ask Susan to show you some of her work – she’s been doing this for five years now so she really knows what she’s doing” when I had been working in the industry for 20 years.
I usually smile and start my next sentence with, “Well X many years ago when I was (insert something impressive you did in your work history) ...”
The problem is people just find it really difficult to get over what they see in front of them, so often they just think you’re a mouthy youth. It has meant that I’ve had to leave jobs to climb the career ladder rather than wait for a promotion. It’s easier to impress people when they have your CV in front of them and can constantly remind themselves of your actual age. Lara, proposal writer, 41
I kept thinking ‘What is wrong with me?’
In my mid-60s I was forcibly retired by a London council – this was legal at the time. I had an excellent record both of attendance (no sick days for five years) and competence. I was assured by my union that a letter of support from my line manager was all that was required to win my appeal – but my manager refused. I was sacked and I have never really recovered from the sense of being “thrown on the scrap heap”.
I have now found successful work as a freelancer. From a professional point of view working freelance has boosted my confidence, but I have been unable to lose the sense of betrayal from the way my employer treated me. I left thinking: “What is wrong with me?”, “I must have been rubbish after all” and “My colleagues must have hated me”. Had I not found freelance work, I would also now be in financial disaster, as my mortgage swallows up most of my pension. Anonymous teaching adviser, 73
A recruiter told me: ‘We don’t call back old people’
My area of expertise is grant-writing for NGOs. As the funding for NGOs in my country got squeezed, I lost my job. I quickly found that with being older, people don’t call me for an interview. When contacted personally or over the phone, a few recruiters have directly said: “We don’t call back old people”.
How can I deal with this situation when nobody values expertise or experience, and is reluctant to offer employment to people over 60?
I don’t know what to do – I need to earn a living. I have children who have yet to complete their studies. I don’t have savings or a pension. How can I survive? How can my family survive?
The experience has ruined my confidence and my career. I’m not unfit physically or mentally. So why shouldn’t I be given the opportunity to work? It’s an injustice. If one willingly wants to retire then that is different but if you’re physically and mentally fit to serve, and willing to work for more years, why should a society or organisation put up a bar and decide who should or who shouldn’t qualify to work? Sirajul Islam, unemployed, 60
A senior manager referred to us disparagingly as ‘very young’
Before age-discrimination legislation was passed, I worked in an office where there were five of us in a relatively young team. When an opening came up for promotion, both my younger colleague and I were not even considered, despite the fact that I had already been doing the role as a maternity cover. Instead, a candidate who had applied for a similar position at another office was appointed. He later told us that a senior manager had referred to our office disparagingly as “very young”.
There wasn’t anything I could do except accept the situation. The irony is I have always felt older than my age and the person who was appointed wasn’t the team player we needed. He often turned up late, overslept or didn’t do what was required of him – but importantly he looked the part. Anonymous museum assistant
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