4 replies to this topic

[PsychoticMuse]

Age Discrimination

Summary: Should age discrimination be made illegal in the workplace?

Introduction
This debate was originally written by Nicholas Tan ( Singapore ) Nicholas Tan was a World Schools debater for the Singapore National Team and a World Universities debater for Cambridge University. He is the current English Mace Champion and the current International Mace Champion, now in his final year reading law at Cambridge University.


Context

Age discrimination occurs when a decision is made on the basis of a person’s age. In the workplace these are most often decisions about recruitment, promotion and dismissal. Although such discrimination could be seen in a reluctance to hire workers who were perceived to be too young and immature for the job, in practice it refers to a bias against older workers. In societies that celebrates youthfulness above almost all else, it can be very difficult for even highly qualified professionals to find new positions after the age of 50. For male senior executives, the fear of age discrimination has led to an increasing demand for cosmetic surgery, but for most older workers there appears little they can do to resist being swept aside in favour of younger replacements.
Nationwide laws against age discrimination are over 30 years old in the United States, 20 years old in Canada and 10 years old in Australia. European Union states including the UK and Ireland have all recently had to introduce anti-age discrimination laws, following the 2006 European Employment Directive, which makes it unlawful to discriminate against employees and job seekers because of their age. But around the world the issue remains a controversial one, both in general and in particular over the practice of setting mandatory retirement ages.


Pros

The elderly may be just as capable as the young. Since age is not necessarily an indication of inferior ability or potential, treating a person less favourably purely on the basis of their age is just as unreasonable and unfair as doing so on the basis of his race or religion. It would also be inconsistent with the principles of equal treatment and non-discrimination, which are at the heart of the notion of individual rights.
If a particular elderly worker truly has, say, less concentration or manual strength than a younger worker, and this objectively and reasonably makes him less qualified for the particular job, then employers can still make their decisions based on his relative lack of suitability for the job – not on his age. Age by itself should not be a determinant.

Cons
In theory hiring should be based on ability. In reality certain abilities may be hard to truly test so employers use age as a proxy for them – in the same way that they use sports as an indication of one’s ‘ability to work in a team’, or extra-curricular leadership as an indicator of ‘management potential’.
Though not foolproof, age is often an indicator of qualities such as concentration, memory, energy, and so on. These qualities may be important: a fashion designer may justifiably want his salespersons to have a certain level of energy and vitality; it is crucial that air traffic controllers and surgeons have very high levels of fitness and concentration.

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Which side of the fense do you stand on? Why?

I am Pro this debate, simply because Age doesn't matter so long as you can do the job required of you. I am young and i find it difficult to find work simply because i am not in that target age of maturity that is apparently what is wanted (between 25-45 years old).

[Tripp]

Yes, and it is illegal in this country. If someone is still able to work and wants to, why should ignorance stop them. I know a 75 year old till worker at a local newsagents who's just delightful, and she's really good at her job. She puts a smile on everyones face and to be honest I think if they can still work, and want to, as well as being able to, why should anyone stop them?

However on the other side of the same coin, you have jobs for over 18's. It could be argued that, that is age discrimination, I am not so sure what my view point is on this, as there are factors to take into account; that I currently have no knowledge of. Well that's a little untrue. I know there is some work that would be quite frankly irresponsible, but others a really gifted teenager could do, and others a child could do it (If there wasn't such a thing as child labour laws which thankfully there are).

I hope this helps.

[Princess Luna]

Well, I am against age discrimination in the workplace. If someone has the best skills for the job, then they can do it. Regardless of age, race, religion, sex and nationality. I hate it when shops hire younger people just because they're cheaper. That's age discrimination and its just plain wrong. In fact, even though they may be a little more expensive, older people will have a lot more experience than the younger people. But then again, young people do need the experience, but shops shouldn't hire young people just so that they can save money.

This world would be a much better place if everyone treated each other right.

[Raxistaicho]

I think in general nobody should be judged by their ages. Dumbledore said it best; "Age is foolish and forgetful when it underestimates youth."

Unfortunately, I have no appropriate quotes for the reverse I suppose Spongebob's "Old people are the greatest! They're full of wisdom and experience!" works, but it's not quite profound enough ^^U

[JamesRaynor]

You also happen to forget that the reverse occurs. You CANNOT get into a political office until you're about 35 at least in the US. Many people however are capable of critical thinking well before the age of twenty and honestly people should be able to attain office as early as 25. The thing is that age discrimination goes both ways. Pretty much the cons are affected by the requirements of the job. If it requires a lot of thinking and talking rather than physical exertion then more likely than not younger people will get discriminated against instead because they 'lack experience'.