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| Source: ASA |
Guest post by Lexy Martin, Principal Research and Customer Value,
Visier
If you want or need to work, no matter your
age, you should be able to. It’s up to you.
Organizations also have a
responsibility to do something about ageism, which is blamed as the culprit for
older workers not finding jobs -- I’ll cover what organizations need to do
later. It’s my point of view, though, that it’s up to you to go after the job you
want and get it!
It’s about having an attitude that you are damn good, a
passion for your field or the field you want to break into, constantly
learning, and applying new skills. Getting and keeping a job, whether you are
40, 70, or even 25, is about manifesting those four aspects.
I’m 73 and still working because I want to.
I’ve not had trouble getting or keeping a job – oh maybe a few times when I was
younger before I developed and manifested attitude, passion, and perseverance. If
you are blaming your age, the company, the industry, or the younger recruiter
that isn’t hiring you, you may be a bit of the problem.
OK. I admit it’s not always easy to be the
oldest worker in an organization peopled by workers a third my age. I have to
combat my own fears of mental and physical decline more than I like, especially
after breaking my ankle a few months ago. I feel I have to spend extra time
learning new skills – maybe a new area in my field or a new program. I have to force
myself to set goals and meet them.
I can be my own worst enemy, especially when
I let fear that I’m not good enough get in the way of being positive, learning,
and performing. For that, I exercise, practice meditation, and have my own
personal affirmations. And sometimes, even those don’t help and so I crab to my
husband. But I persevere and maybe that’s my one big piece of advice – keep on
being the best you can be despite all that “stuff.''
Now let me cover the reality that ageism does exist, particularly in the Tech industry based on research. At Visier, a
people analytics product company, delivered as a cloud solution, we have the
opportunity to analyze people data from most of our 100+ customers who
represent multiple industries[1].
Over the past few years we’ve seen numerous articles about ageism in the Tech
industry, and so mined this data and uncovered some truths and also some myths
about ageism. Not only is there anecdotal evidence of ageism but also
data-based evidence of systemic ageism. But still – don’t let that get you
down. Go for the job you want, because you are great!
Many Tech professionals over age 50 (and
even a number over age 40)[2] believe ageism exists because of their own personal difficulties
finding work later in their careers. Certainly, there have been numerous
class-action lawsuits about ageism against Silicon Valley giants, even
more than about racial or gender bias.
Situational ageism–prejudice or
discrimination on the basis of a person’s age–is an important issue organizations
across industries should be aware of and take steps to monitor and improve. Not
just because of fairness or to reduce the risk of age discrimination
litigation, but also because of upcoming retirements and the resulting skills
shortages. In the past 50 years, the size of the US workforce has grown an
average of 1.7% annually. In the next 50 years, the US workforce size will grow
by only 0.3% annually[3].
Does Ageism Exist in Tech?
In short, yes. A Visier Insights Report on
ageism in the Tech industry [4] found that Tech does hire a higher proportion of younger
workers and a smaller proportion of older workers than in other industries.
Is this disparity in hiring due to systemic
ageism in Tech? To investigate this, we first strove to determine if the disparity
is related to the availability of talent versus an intentional bias towards
hiring younger workers. We found that hiring decisions in Tech do indeed favor
younger candidates, hiring Millennials over Gen X candidates at a higher rate
than in non-Tech industries.
This answer has traditionally been
difficult to get: While leading Tech companies publicize their organizational
ethnic and gender composition data, little data has been shared about the age
makeup of the Tech workforce5.
We began our research into ageism by
looking at the breakdown of the workforce by age, comparing the Tech industry
to non-Tech industries. Using the Visier Insights database—an aggregation of
anonymized and standardized workforce databases that for this report included
330,000 employees from 43 large US enterprises (those with at least two years
of verified and validated high-quality data)—we were able to examine the role
of age in the workforce like never before.
Debunking Myths about Ageism
Our research showed that the average Tech
worker is 38 years old, compared to 43 years old for non-Tech workers. The
average manager in the Tech industry is 42 years old, compared to 47 for
non-Tech industries.
It comes as no surprise that Tech workers
are younger on average, but our research clarified some key misconceptions
related to the salary lifecycle, resignation rates, and perceived value of
older workers.
Here are four common ageism myths we debunked with the data:
Myth #1: Older Tech workers are less valued
While the average Tech worker is five years
younger than the average worker, it is a misconception that older workers are
less valued in Tech. From age 40 onwards, non-manager workers in Tech enter the
“Tech Sage Age” and are increasingly likely to receive a top performer rating
as they age, mature, and gain experience. Conversely, the proportion of top
performers decreases with age in non-Tech industries. This finding suggests
that maturity and experience are more important drivers of high performance in
Tech than in Non-Tech industries.
Myth #2: Older Tech workers experience a drop in salary
Older
Tech workers as a group do not experience a reduction in average salary that is
any different from non-Tech industries. Rather, workers in Tech experience the
same salary lifecycle as their counterparts in non-Tech.
Myth #3: Newly hired older Tech workers are not paid
equitably
Older Tech workers that are newly hired do
not — on average — experience a lower wage. Rather, newly hired workers are
paid the same average salary as more tenured workers, across all age groups.
Myth #4: Older workers in Tech resign at higher rates
The average resignation rates by age for
Tech and non-Tech workforces show that older Tech workers — from age 40 onwards
— have the same first-year resignation rate as their non-Tech age counterparts:
approximately 10%.
This concludes Part I of Ageism: Is it True or is it You? Stay tuned for Part II, which will take a closer look at what organizations can do to combat ageism.
Lexy Martin is a respected thought leader and researcher on HR technology adoption and their value to organizations and workers alike. Known as the originator of the Sierra-Cedar HR Systems Survey, she now works at Visier continuing her research efforts, now on people analytics, and working closely with customers to support them in their HR transformation to become data-driven organizations. Lexy is Principal, Research and Customer Value at Visier. Connect with Lexy at lexy.martin@visier.com or personally at lexymartin1@gmail.com.
[1] The Tech companies included in our
research represent the diverse fields within the Tech industry from Software
Development, Hosting, Data Processing, Telecommunications, Computer Systems
Design and Scientific Services.
[2] It’s Tough Being Over 40 in Silicon Valley, Carol Hymowitz and Robert Burnson,
September 8, 2016, Bloomberg Businessweek. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-08/silicon-valley-s-job-hungry-say-we-re-not-to-old-for-this
[3] Global Growth: Can Productivity Save the Day
in an Aging World? McKinsey Global Institute, January 2015. https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/McKinsey/Global%20Themes/Employment%20and%20Growth/Can%20long%20term%20global%20growth%20be%20saved/MGI%20Global%20growth_Executive%20summary_January%202015.ashx
[4] Visier Insights Report: The Truth About
Ageism in the Tech Industry, September, 2017. https://www.visier.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Visier-Insights-AgeismInTech-Sept2017.pdf
5 Hacking the Diversity Problem with Big Data
Analytics, John Schwartz, Data Informed, February, 2015.
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