Time for that "Fifty over Fifty" Listing?

A dear friend who just turned 52 called me with fair amount of tension in her voice.  Turns out that the firm where she works was right sizing and her role was one of those ‘rationalized’.  Now that is normal in today’s day and age – however what she said next got me thinking.  “It would have been different if I were in my 30s or 40s” she quipped. “However how many organizations would hire someone above 50”

Two out of three workers above the age of 45, have seen or experienced age discrimination at work, and job seekers above 45 cite that as the top obstacle to getting hired. In reality – while ageism impacts all industries, it hits particularly hard in the innovation economy where youth reigns.  What is appalling is that – instead of filtering profiles by the key requisites (functional or behavioral) many people leaders, headhunters, talent acquisition leads screen resumes with age/ years of experience as a filter too!   Both stereotypes- that of the energetic millennial (anyone with lazy teen kids?) or that of the elder colleague with poor learning agility and rigid views – perhaps need a review for unconscious bias

Reflect some more – and you will recollect how, screaming out of our business magazines and dailies – one sees news of startups and funds set aside to fund young talents, famous global magazines and consulting firms proudly publish the 30 Under 30 or the “Forty Under Forty” list – and we either participate by nominating or celebrating these awardees. 

A focus on diversity of any sort is simply a means to get thought diversity on the table; a means to get a microcosm of the society we serve – on the decision table.  Much as that applies for gender diversity - -perhaps it’s a matter of time before it would start applying for ageism.  Don’t get me wrong. Not in any way am I suggesting we don’t have a segmented people strategy that focused on the booming millennial workforce. All I am saying is… lets have a segmented strategy for all segments in our organizations.. Over indexing on any segment never helped anyone… So the invitation is for us to be intentional around being neutral. 

So, just like we removed “religion” and “gender” from application blanks… is it time we dropped “age”?     What do you all think as readers and leaders?

And on a lighter note, I do wait for some leading firm or business magazine to take the first mover advantage and launch that “FIFTY OVER FIFTY“ list ..And by the way - I am ok to forego my royalty for the idea ;) 

PS: Views and reflections mentioned here are personal