Ending ageism is economically sound

During the Council on the Ageing (COTA) Victoria’s annual general meeting, chief executive officer, Sue Hendy, called on candidates for the 27 November state election to demonstrate how they will respond to the impact of age discrimination in Victoria.

“Largely unacknowledged and accepted, ageism is pervasive in Victoria and it is costing the state thousands,” Ms Hendy said.

Senior policy and research officer of the Australian Human Rights Commission, Priya SaratChandran, then presented the findings of the Human Rights Commission’s Age Discrimination – Exposing the Hidden Barrier for Mature Age Workers report.

The majority of age discrimination complaints received by the Human Rights Commission are related to employment.

Ms Hendy said that age discrimination would be the primary focus for COTA over the next four years.

“Fifty percent of complaints received under the Age Discrimination Act in 2009 to 2010 were lodged because employees were told they were too old for employment with most of the complaints made by individuals over 45 years of age,” Ms Hendy said.

“Older people are finding themselves discriminated against in their local communities, often on the receiving end of impatient, dismissive and patronising behaviour,” she said.

“Many older employees find themselves on the receiving end of hints, comments and jokes about retiring and menopause once they reach the age of 60, while others experience isolation from fellow employees.

“Recruitment, training, lost productivity, and short term work overload on colleagues: the costs of replacing a skilled and experienced older person ranges between 50% and 150% of a worker’s annual salary.

“Many employers think that hiring an older person will cost their business more but ABS data actually shows that older people are five times less likely to change jobs compared with workers aged between 20-24 years old. Older people are also the least likely group to take days off due to their own illness or as a carer.”

COTA says the real cost is to the economy at a time when Victoria needs policies to increase productivity.

“The Federal Government’s 2010 Intergeneration Report predicts that increasing the participation of mature age workers by 5% in the next 40 years would increase Australia’s GDP per capita by 2.4%, while also easing the pressure on the welfare system.

“If we don’t embrace the capacity, wisdom and experience of older people, what will happen to our economy?”

COTA is urging candidates for the November state election to demonstrate how they will adopt the World Health Organisation’s Active Ageing framework to enable the participation and leadership of older people across a range of policy and planning areas.

“By identifying and implementing models of the Active Ageing approach, we can facilitate civic and community participation and continue to develop positive ageing strategies in local communities and statewide,” continued Ms Hendy.

“The number of Victorians over the age of 60 is already outnumbering schoolchildren with around 19% of the population over 60 and, based on current trends, Australians between 20-64 years old are only expected to grow less than a tenth of the current pace.

“If we don’t address ageism anytime soon, Victoria’s economy is going to suffer,” Ms Hendy said.