With much of the American population growing older and a severely low employment rate among those over 62, Social Security faces severe long-term challenges. Several reforms to Social Security have been proposed, such as raising the retirement age, but these reforms are unlikely because age discrimination may limit job opportunities at a higher level than most professionals forecasted. The impact of age discrimination in the workplace has been debated for decades by economists, but today most economists agree that age discrimination limits job opportunities for older Americans, especially for the women who make up the majority of unemployed.
There have been a large number of field experiments whereby fictional job seekers who were equally qualified professionally, but diverse in age and gender, applied to jobs either online or in person. The majority of studies has shown that employers offer fewer jobs and interviews to older women. The basic design of these experiments were modified to see if employers equally pass over older workers who are similarly qualified. Realistic but concocted resumes were created for young people (30’s), middle-aged (50’s) and older (65) Americans. The resumes were submitted to companies hiring secretaries, administrative assistants, security guards, janitors, and retails salespeople. Forty thousand fictitious job applications were sent out in 12 cities. Each job opening received resumes from the study’s different age groups.
The studies yielded predictably meek results for the country’s older population, staying steady with current trends for seniors. Those 65 years or older who were seeking administrative jobs saw call back rates that were half that of younger applicants – 7.6 percent for younger applicants versus 14.4 percent for older applicants. Middle-aged applicants also received fewer callbacks than the younger applicants. Moreover, women faced even worse age discrimination than men. One explanation for this is that, the study suggests, physical attractiveness boosts a woman’s chance of being hired, but related research shows an “attractiveness penalty” is often faced by older women.
Philadelphia Employment Lawyers at The Gold Law Firm P.C. Represent Victims of Age Discrimination
If you, a loved one, or someone you know has faced age discrimination, call our seasoned team of Philadelphia age discrimination lawyers at The Gold Law Firm P.C. Age discrimination is a real issue that is affecting a massive amount of older Americans in the United States. Gaining employment can be extremely difficult if you are being discriminated against because of your age. To schedule a free confidential consultation, call us at 215-569-1999 or contact us online. Our offices are conveniently located in Center City Philadelphia and we represent clients throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York.
