Age and Generational Discrimination

Generational discrimination is very common in society, which can be seen through the names they are given. For example, the Baby Boomer generation was born between 1946 and 1964. This generation is said to be the most successful and productive in their communities as they have gotten the most income, food, apparel, and retirement programs. While generational discrimination is amongst certain generations that share the same characteristics, age discrimination is based upon people above the age of 40 that are treated poorly in the work force. This can be seen amongst multiple ages as the younger and elderly employees are said to not see eye to eye, however, the stigma is primarily based upon negative thoughts towards the older workers. In the United States, we have The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), which forbids age discrimination against people who are age 40 or over. My perspective on what contributes to these forms of discrimination are based on the stigmas that society has created. With every type of discrimination, it is caused because people are pointing out the status quo and commonalities amongst a group. Yes, there are people that break the status quo, but for the most part, we see trends. When we grow older, we are going to be competing for a job. There are going to be other qualifiers for your position. This tends to make people want to outshine others, which can cause controversy in a workplace. My cousin is a nurse and had started in a different division in the hospital and didn’t stick with it long. Supposedly the older and more experienced nurses looked down upon the young ones or newcomers to the group. Discrimination is very evident in the workplace and I don’t know what will change that, because obviously, we are not just discriminatory amongst the older aged workers. I think to reduce the prevalence there could be a different act that states discrimination amongst all ages is forbid.