NEW AGEISM STATISTICS FROM MORE MAGAZINE
A new national survey by More magazine found that 87% of the population believes that women experience age discrimination at some point in their lives. The study also found that men are not immune. One in five men and women aged 40-60 believe being over 40 has hurt them professionally, with those over 55 almost twice as likely (32%) than those 40-54 (18%) to admit that it has damaged their chances of getting a new job.
The survey, conducted by Data Development Worldwide (DDW) for More, is based on a telephone sample of 1,002 men and women ages 18 and older and is part of More’s “Breaking the Age Barrier” special report appearing in the November 2008 issue, on newsstands October 28th. This special report includes an analysis of the current ageism landscape as it affects women over 40, including personal stories, updates on women’s legal rights, advice from attorneys and human resource consultants, and sidebars on when employees should seek legal counsel and what is and is not legal in terms of discrimination.
There also seems to be a gender divide when it comes to ageism: men and women agree that discrimination begins four years earlier for women.
Lesley Jane Seymore, the editor in chief of MORE says,” We are not shocked to learn that age discrimination exists. But we are surprised that people aren’t more vocal about it. Racism and sexism are very much in the news every day, but silence surrounds ageism – even in a year when John McCain jokes run rampant on late night television.”
FIRST, thank you MORE Magazine for bringing these new statistics to light. They illuminate that the problem is massive. For those of us who have been trying to bring awareness about the ageism that women face to the public for many years find solace that the message has finally has been received and that Americans finally GET IT.
I understand where Jane Seymore is coming from. There are many of us in the entertainment industry that have been very vocal in fighting the fight against ageism for a very long time. But we have also, at many times, felt alone and isolated when spreading the word about a problem that isn’t at the forefront of the American consciousness. The media has a profound effect on the views of society. In the case of films it is not necessarily what you see that perpetuates ageism but what you don’t see. Women over 40 are largely ignored by the media, which effects how society and employers see them. It is the lack of positive images of women over 40 in the media that is at the root of the ageism problem. Those of us in the entertainment industry that have experienced the loss of opportunities as we age are positioned to speak up because it hits us earlier and it hits hard. Looking at these new statistics perhaps means that the women’s voices that stood alone in the entertainment industry and other industries have finally been heard by the general public and are in a small way responsible for this new awareness.
Knowledge is power as they say and Americans now have the knowledge and they have the power to join the forces with the tired voices of the few to continue the battle against ageism until it is eliminated.
Again kudos again to MORE for leading the way. So pick up the November Issue of MORE Magazine. More’s “Breaking the Age Barrier”
Debbie Zipp, Blogger for In the Trenches Productions.COM, The First Entertainment Website for Women Over 40 On The Web
