Did you ever experience ageism?

Colleen said:
When I went to CA in 1997 to marry my now late husband, I looked for a job. My next door neighbor was the head secretary for the school district and she told me there was a job opening so I got an interview. I was 50 at the time and had lots of office/finance experience so I was confident about getting that job. Well, I didn't. My neighbor told me they hired some young girl and the thing that made me laugh was she only lasted a few months. She didn't show up for work half the time and when she did, she didn't do her job. She was good looking and young. That's the only thing that got her the job.

I actually got a job with a medical billing company that ONLY hired "mature" women. They said they didn't want to put up with girls being off with cramps or having babies or just not showing up. It was one of the best jobs I ever had. They took us on cruises. We went to Disneyland. Just a lot of perks that I'm sure the school district wouldn't have offered. It worked out for the best for me.
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There are companies that are more Interested in work ethic and experience. They're just few and far between.
 

In my wildest dreams, I never expected to reach the age of 91, and who knows where beyond? I am so surprised at myself, and I don't mind who knows my age. I am always told I look 5–10 years younger, but I am not necessarily flattered by that. I know I am not beset with tons of wrinkles in my face, and that's probably why.

Never let age comments bother you. Goes with the territory and as long as you are happy in your own skin, carry on.
 
Constantly. It has been present since I was in my 50s. A few things give away my age: my size (fat), that I sometimes walk in pain (bad back, hips and knees wearing out), and I think I am just old-fashioned. I have tried to update my wardrobe in the past two years slowly, but I think I am still frumpy. I refuse to buy into the trends in clothes (like the cold-shoulder look everyone was wearing 2-3 years ago) because I expect my clothes to last. I'm also short. I think tall women are able to look more elegant, dress with more elegance, and elegance looks younger, IMO.
I also don't buy a lot of black. Black is the hottest color around for women in my area. I don't like black near my face, It washes me out. I'll wear black pants often, but I need color near my face.

I also wear frumpy shoes. I need to be comfortable when I walk! No style at all around my feet.
But I think my main claim to old age are my values. I'm very old-fashioned in many ways. E.g. if there is assigned reading in a class I'm taking, I will actually do all the reading. The younger people, they just ask each other the answers. They don't bother with the reading. They lean on each other much more for information than I do since I was raised in school and in the home to be independent.
 
Colleen said:
When I went to CA in 1997 to marry my now late husband, I looked for a job. My next door neighbor was the head secretary for the school district and she told me there was a job opening so I got an interview. I was 50 at the time and had lots of office/finance experience so I was confident about getting that job. Well, I didn't. My neighbor told me they hired some young girl and the thing that made me laugh was she only lasted a few months. She didn't show up for work half the time and when she did, she didn't do her job. She was good looking and young. That's the only thing that got her the job.

I actually got a job with a medical billing company that ONLY hired "mature" women. They said they didn't want to put up with girls being off with cramps or having babies or just not showing up. It was one of the best jobs I ever had. They took us on cruises. We went to Disneyland. Just a lot of perks that I'm sure the school district wouldn't have offered. It worked out for the best for me.
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I went to do an interview for a story idea way back in about 2009? 10? The principal, a woman in her 40s, flat-out told me that administrators liked to hire younger teachers because they had so much energy and enthusiasm. Unabashed ageism. Proud to be ageist.
 
Over the past 5 years, the Toronto CTV station has been on a drive to retire all of the on air staff that have had a career that spans 25 or 30 years. That resulted in the loss of 4 males who had been with the station for decades being replaced by younger women. The station does not have any weather people on staff, they have farmed that out to a independent company The Weather Network. No more sports reporters, that is now covered by Sports Net, which is owned by CTV. No more business reporters, that is farmed out to Bloomberg Business News.

The concept is clear to me, retire the old people who are making the most money due to their years of employment, and hire young females fresh out of college, who will work for MUCH less money. The downside of course is the lack of street level experience, poor actual speaking voices, and a good contact list, that an experienced TV reporter would have built up over the years. CBC Toronto TV has been doing the same thing as CTV. JimB.
 
VintageBetter said:
I went to do an interview for a story idea way back in about 2009? 10? The principal, a woman in her 40s, flat-out told me that administrators liked to hire younger teachers because they had so much energy and enthusiasm. Unabashed ageism. Proud to be ageist.
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On the other side of the coin...How many MALE elementary school teachers do we see now ? Damn few. WHY ? The field is female dominated, and men ( if they are at all sensible ) will not seek such a job because of the looming accusations about their relations with children. That ends up with an environment that has little to no male role models in it. JimB.
 
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