Age Discrimination

Lately, the issue of keeping older people in the workforce has been finding its way into the media and government policy discussions.

And I have started to hear people asking why it has “suddenly” become so important to ensure that people can stay gainfully employed as they age.

The tragic reality in Australia today is that many people living on the Age Pension would prefer – either out of need or personal choice - to be gainfully employed.

Continue reading "Beard gone all grey? It’s still your right to go to work" »

Where did we Australians get this idea that 50 is old, too old, over the hill? Since becoming Age Discrimination Commissioner, I have been asked this question many times. I can’t answer it. 

But we have to find an answer. We have to get rid of this damaging idea. Because of it, too many people are being forced out of their jobs when they have barely turned 50. When they apply for a new job, they are often ignored, or fobbed off with excuses like, “You are overqualified”, or “We are looking for someone with lots of energy”! This fob-off is not only insulting, not only damaging to the well-qualified, motivated mature worker, it leads him or her on the downward path to poverty in old age. 

If sustained, these experiences can lead to depression. After all, everyone needs to feel useful, to get recognition for a job well done. We all enjoy the company of fellow workers, and most of us need to earn money and grow our super, well into our 60’s and beyond. If all this is denied us, just because of prejudice, we suffer. And, tragic as it is, this is not just about the waste of individuals.

Continue reading "Can we seriously say that 50 is too old to work?" »