Women in workforce face age bias no matter how old they are, study finds

‘So many young and middle-aged women are being kept from professional advancement,’ study’s author says

A new study has found that women in the workface face age bias regardless of how old they are.

The study, published by the Harvard Business Review, saw researchers examine how women in leadership roles experience ageism. As noted by the World Health Organization, ageism “refers to the stereotypes (how we think), prejudice (how we feel) and discrimination (how we act) towards others or oneself based on age”.

As part of the new study, the research team administered an open-ended survey to 914 women in the country who work for industries including higher education, faith-based nonprofits, law, and health care. Results found that women who are 60 or above reported being deemed “unworthy of advancement” in the workforce because of their age.

These survey participants also expressed that, when compared to co-workers of the opposite sex, they’ve been given less opportunities.

“While men become wells of wisdom as they age, older women are seen as outdated, harpy, strident,” one physician who took the survey said. “Our voices are discounted.”

Others noted that because of the age discrimination they’ve faced at work, they’ve considered pursuing careers elsewhere. According to the study, one 60-year-old lawyer indicated: “I am tired of proving myself to others and may as well do it in the interests of my own company.”

Meanwhile, young surveyors, who were under the age of 40, recalled how they’ve been given pet names at work or patted on the head. They also described how inaccurate assumptions were made about them because they looked young, with some noting that they’ve been mistaken for interns or students.

Regarding how their appearance has been scrutinised, one physician recalled how, after she gave a scientific presentation, a male co-worker told her she “looked like a Barbie doll up there”.

In addition, the younger women said they faced situations at work where their statements and credentials are not taken seriously. “I am often told that I don’t have the experience so I can’t know what to do,” one 34-year-old woman said in the study.

Along with women in both the younger and older age ranges, the study also looked at those who were middle-aged, which referred to the ages between 40 and 60. Many of these women said they were also subject to ageism, with one college leader claiming that some search committees have decided not to hire women in their late forties, because they have “too much family responsibility and impending menopause”.

Ultimately, the study concluded that, regardless of what age they are, women are still facing ageism in the workforce.

“No matter what age the women were, it was ‘never quite right’ for leadership,” Amy Diehl, chief information officer at Wilson College  and co-authored the study, told CBS MoneyWatch. “So many young and middle-aged women are being kept from professional advancement.”

Leanne Dzubinski, professor at Biola University and co-author of the study, went on to explain that everyone in the workforce is affected by age bias, regardless of if they’re the ones experiencing it or not.

“Any time half (or more) of the workforce is limited in their ability to contribute to organisations and society, that loss impacts everyone and the broader economy,” Dzubinski said to CBS. “When women - young, middle aged, or older - are discriminated against, everyone suffers.”

Researchers have continued to examine the existence of ageism in the United States. In a 2022 study, the Journal of the American Medical Association found that, out of 2,035 participants between the ages of 50 to 80, 93.4 per cent said they experienced ageism in their everyday lives.

Along with the study published in the Harvard Business Review, researchers have previously examined the gender bias that women in the workforce face. In a 2022 study conducted by McKinsey & Company, it found that, “for every 100 men who are promoted from entry-level roles to manager positions, only 87 women are promoted”.