Time to shame the ageists
By Tony Watts & Jayne Warren - 06/08/2008
The new Equalities Bill about to make its way through Parliament heralds a golden opportunity to rid society of the one form of discrimination which remains legally acceptable and which still blights the lives of millions of people: ageism.
But Help the Aged is warning that the “forces of opposition in business and government” could still impede its progress unless the public keeps up the pressure. “There are some people in Government who have got their heads around what needs to be done,” their head of public affairs Kate Joplin, told MT, “but there are still companies, MPs and ministers who haven’t.”
The way the legislation on age discrimination in the workplace was watered down after pressure by the CBI should be a warning. This gave older people the right to ask to be kept on after retirement age – but carte blanche for employers to refuse. Recent statistics show that 62% of over-fifties feel that they have been turned down for a job because they are considered too old. Harriet Harman told the Commons that: “The last frontier of equality is ensuring that the growing number of older people in this country don’t face unfair prejudice and discrimination.” And she especially wants this Bill to prevent age discrimination within health and financial services - all areas exempt from the current law.
MT reader Jack Meads from Surbiton has highlighted one vital area in the UK justice system where age is definitely a barrier: those over 70 are effectively barred from jury service. Says Jack: “I have three careers behind me - accountancy, military and education - yet am seen as unable to weigh up evidence, make rational decisions and come to a conclusion based on the evidence presented to me. Whilst teenagers are called to sit in judgement, many of my generation who could make their life experiences available to the cause of justice are deemed ‘unfit’ to be jurors. Why?”
Age Concern have long complained that many old people are automatically refused insurance without being told why; some insurance companies have upper age limits for life or holiday cover, and 75 is often the upper age limit to hire a car. But to show how far thinking will have to shift, ABI, the insurers’ group, say they do not think this will change with the new Bill, believing that age will remain a valid criterion to base insurance risk pricing on.
“Sometimes the law provides a kickstart to changing the way society thinks,” says Kate Joplin. “There is still a huge amount of stereotyping of older people, such as when a mobile phone company refused to discuss a package with someone over 70 unless they were accompanied by a younger person – because they were ‘too old’ to understand it.”
Getting the Bill through without compromising on key issues, warns Kate Joplin, is still “not a done deal”. “We have no timetable for implementation and no detail. Until all that is in place there will still be age discrimination. Some companies will change by realizing that they are losing valuable custom. But market forces alone won’t be enough.”
So what can be done to make sure we stamp out ageism? Help the Aged is calling upon the public to lobby their MPs and to let the media know if they have been discriminated against. And here at Mature Times we will welcome YOUR experiences: if a company or organisation has blatantly discriminated against you, let us know. We will do our best to persuade them to change their policy – naming and shaming them if necessary.
There is no room for ageism in our society. So let’s stamp it out together.