We’re all aware of the impact of gender bias and are quite confident that – despite what many may think – it still exists. How do we know? Numerous studies have proven it. But more importantly because most (if not all) women have experienced it. Ageism on the other hand is not as quantifiable because not all women have experienced it – yet. When you put the two together you have gendered ageism – a double whammy for women – and today’s new sexism.
While it you may believe that ageism only impacts older segments of the population, you couldn’t be further from the truth – ageism is everywhere. For example, younger women may be excluded from opportunities to contribute to decision making in the workplace or considered to be a potential liability because they may have children. For older women the issue can be multifaceted and nearly two out of three women age 50 and above say they are regularly discriminated against – with 48% reporting that bias was because of their age.
Ageism, like gender bias, is an unconscious or implicit bias. According to gerontologist Jeanette Leardi, it persists in society because people tend to see aging as deterioration and decline. Those beliefs in turn shape our attitudes and behaviors across the board. For example, CNN anchor Don Lemon created an uproar earlier this year when he asserted – on air – that 51-year-old presidential candidate Nikki Haley, “isn’t in her prime, sorry,” later stating that “a woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s and 30s and maybe 40s.” When his co-anchor Poppy Harlow pushed back, Mr. Lemon responded, “I’m just saying what the facts are,” and urged her to “Google it.”
At age 40, Sharon Stone recalled being told she was “too old” for many roles. However, she disagrees and in a recent interview said, “[At 40,] you’re old enough to know what you want and young enough to go get it. And you look amazing! I looked amazing! I look at pictures of myself and think, ‘That was old?’ Oh my god.’” Having recently seen her honored for her humanitarian work at the National Women’s History Museum’s Women Making History Awards Gala I can attest to the fact that at 65, she is far from “old.” She is stunning, articulate, and impressive, and whether it’s painting, acting, or another creative endeavor, she plans to keep going, “until the very last breath.”
Geena Davis, who founded the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, said that characters over 50 years of age make up 20% of the characters we see on screen, but only a QUARTER of those are women. In her own experience she has said that a potential male co-star didn’t approve of her casting because he thought she was too old when she was 20 years younger than he was. ‘It’s very strange and so prevalent,’ she said of ageism while speaking to Allison Kugel on the Allison Interviews podcast. “Women peak in their 20s and 30s, and men peak in their 40s and 50s as far as actors go,” Davis continued. “So the male stars of the movies want to appear to be younger than they are, or they want to appeal to younger people, so they always want a co-star who is really young.”
As the saying goes, “You have to see it to be it.” And as older women get excluded from television, movies, and even political stages, they are almost becoming invisible in public life. A 2021 report from the Geena Davis Institute noted, “Our analysis of the most popular films and television shows from 2010 to 2020 suggests that on-screen ageism persists and is particularly evident among on-screen women aged 50+.” Entertainment writer Stephen Whitty addressed it in a recent article on the NJarts.net site, “Hollywood’s message is clear. Women get old. Men just get… older.” He called for “movies in which a woman’s age isn’t a definition, but a description — and just one of many.” “What’s required, he wrote, are ‘more stories in which we see women in their 50s, 60s and beyond learning new things, meeting new challenges, overcoming new obstacles.’”
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), ageism intersects and exacerbates other forms of disadvantage including those related to gender, and it can change how we view ourselves, can erode solidarity between generations, can devalue or limit our ability to benefit from what younger and older populations can contribute, and can impact our health, longevity and well-being. Tetyana Shippee, a social gerontologist at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, told AARP that “From ages 18 to 30, women report age discrimination due to being too young. From your mid-30s to your mid-40s is a safe time. Then age discrimination starts to pick up again after age 50, and it’s especially high after 55-plus.”
There are things we can do to combat ageism. The WHO points to three strategies that work in reducing or eliminating ageism: policy and law, educational activities and intergenerational interventions. Companies benefit from a diverse workforce too. As noted in Dr. Nancy’s book In This Together, “It’s important for diverse women to work together in this effort because we will all benefit from the power of our full numbers. We draw strength from our diversity. “Not to mention the fact that study after study has found increased profitability of companies with more women in leadership and more diverse teams.
Ultimately, instead of taking a “sky is falling” approach, we need to remember our history. We understand discrimination and know what it means to be the underdog. We know how to celebrate and support one another – in case you need a refresher please grab a copy of In This Together – and we know how to join forces to make change.