While it’s illegal to make hiring, and firing decisions
based on age, age discrimination is rampant in the tech industry. Proving
explicit discrimination may be difficult, but many of the movers and shakers in
the technological world make no bones about it; they openly admit to hiring people under 30 years of age. Worse yet, there doesn’t seem to be much of a public
outcry against this practice.
In fact, no one batted an eye
when 22-year-old Mark Zuckerberg told a Stanford audience: “I want to stress the importance of being young and
technical. Young people are just smarter.” Amazingly, there was no
backlash for Zuckerberg, and it wasn’t because the media looked the other way;
his speech garnered massive amounts of media play. Unfortunately, ageism in the
tech industry is old news.
Risk-taking, Rapid Decisions, & Adaptation Valued by Tech Companies
Perception may be part of the problem when it comes to
hiring senior professionals. Perceived as being slower to catch on when it
comes to newer technological developments, hiring professionals pass over older applicants in favor of younger ones.
Managers and supervisors, loathe to take
on the onerous burden of getting a new hire that may not be adept at handling
cutting-edge developments up to speed; they can just as easily hire a
fresh-faced graduate.
The technology industry is a dynamic entity. Tech that’s in
now may be nothing more than a useless relic in less than six months. Success
in tech depends on taking risks, rapid decision-making, and the ability to
anticipate and keep up with new developments. From an evolutionary standpoint,
the tendency towards risk-taking behavior peaks in our youth and drops off
precipitously sometime after age 27. In a business environment bombarded with
radical change, continual innovation, and rapid iteration, it’s easy to
see why slow and steady isn’t what it takes to win the race.
Of course, employers fail to consider that the ability to
take risks isn’t limited solely to younger workers. Older workers have more experience
in taking risks. Imbued with the ability to engage in lateral thinking, mature
individuals can make connections between concepts that may at first glance seem
unrelated. Seasoned professionals also benefit from more accurate and
logical reasoning gleaned from years of
experience in the field. Furthermore, the emotional control humans gain with
age enhances core business skills like focus, persistence, and resilience.
Younger Workers More Likely to Work Longer Hours for Less Pay
Families and responsibilities outside of work can be a
liability in an industry where 60-hour workweeks are the norm rather than the
exception. While a workforce capable of devoting 100 percent of their time and
energy to achieving company objectives is tempting to
tech leadership, these lofty expectations leave older workers caring for
children or aging parents out in the cold.
However, the primary reason why tech firms eschew older workers may have less to do with all the
above and more to do with the bottom line. Willing to work long hours for less
pay, younger workers are more attractive than their older counterparts who
often command higher salaries and increasing levels of benefits. Since payroll is the largest expense for most
companies, it certainly sheds light on the tendency many tech companies
have of laying off older workers.
The trade-off for this is
that while younger workers are cheaper than professionals with years of
experience, they require more hand-holding and make more mistakes. The
costs associated with these factors may not always be clear-cut, which might explain why hiring managers and leadership
within organizations aren’t second-guessing their decisions on favoring new
hires over seasoned workers.
Age Bias Largely Ignored by Tech Giants and the Public
Although the Age and Discrimination in Employment Act of
1967 makes it illegal to discriminate
against older workers, this law has no teeth when it comes to hiring and firing
in the tech industry. Hiring managers and employers dismiss older workers almost
with impunity. Reports of workers blatantly referred to as “sluggish“ and “obsolete” by
their supervisors continue to escalate according to employment advocates. One
unfortunate 50-year old endured chastising for not being “relevant” by his
twenty-something supervisor.
Although, Twitter, Google, and Facebook have all faced
lawsuits related to their egregious discrimination against older workers, this
has done little to dissuade them from continuing these practices. The millions
of dollars in settlements paid out are
just a drop in the bucket when compared to the sheer enormity of the revenue
pulled in by these organizations.
Unfortunately, for those over 40, ideas about diversity are
more inclusive towards combatting racism and sexism; ageism is taking a back
seat to the more visible issues. Age bias just isn’t getting the same push-back
from the public that one sees with other problems.
Despite efforts to appear more diverse, young white men remain
the most visible demographic in Silicon Valley. The median age for most tech
firms still hovers just below 30, with little variation above that, leaving
some to insinuate that Silicon Valley is
a “white man’s paradise”.
Ageism, like other forms of discrimination, continues to
persist because the assumptions about older workers go unchecked. Very few
people are willing to challenge the status quo. Until enough people are willing
to stand up against ageism, there will be no sweeping reforms.
Us Government and Startups Cooperating to Combat Ageism in Tech
To be fair, there are initiatives in process to address
ageism and other forms of discrimination endemic in the tech industry. The US
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is working on some measures to help
close the talent gap. There is an entire field of startups forming to create
innovative solutions designed to encourage diversity and inclusion. Dozens of
companies are jumping on board the
diversity bandwagon to eliminate bias in hiring and seek out diverse talent
pools.
Displaced older workers also have the power to boost their
chances of getting hired by employing a few tried and true practices to get
their foot in the door when it comes to getting hired. Including only recent
relevant work history and not listing graduation dates on resumes are
strategies commonly recommended by employment experts. Updating certification
and training and using younger-looking pictures of oneself on social media
profiles may also prove to be beneficial to older job seekers.
When it comes to addressing ageism in tech-related fields, it
would be beneficial to all, if key
players reevaluated their positions on hiring and retaining experienced older employees.
The crux of the matter is that diversity is necessary for innovation and
stability. As the movers and shakers in tech start approaching middle age and retirement, it will be interesting to see if
they continue to stand by the assumption that “in the tech world, gray hair and
experience are really overrated”.
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