Prejudice and discrimination

An interesting programme on Channel 4 just recently examined the issue of racism in the UK today, using as a framework an experiment which has been conducted in the USA for some decades. The experiment divides individuals into brown-eyed and blue-eyed groups with those with blue eyes being subject to discriminatory and generally abusive behaviour from those with brown-eyes – the object being to demonstrate how easy it is for people to discriminate against others on the basis of arbitrary and unchangeable features. The programme and its subject matter were interesting and thought-provoking in themselves, but even more so because of the underlying tenet that it’s easy to deny the existence of discrimination, stereotypes and prejudice if you’re not on the receiving end of them. The programme seemed to suggest that in the UK today, racial prejudice is subtle but still generally prevalent, albeit largely unrecognised by those who aren’t on the receiving end. Certainly it caused me to think about how this applies in relation to age. In the workplace there are numerous examples of situations where, although employers and younger workers abide by the rules in terms of age discrimination legislation, older workers (and certainly older job applicants) know that they are at a disadvantage because of their age. And we are all familiar with the ‘light-hearted’ joking and banter in the workplace associated with ageing and older people.

One of the messages of the Channel 4 programme seemed to be that discrimination happens to a degree because those who are subject to it allow it to take place. Whilst not wanting to get into the deep and thorny issues surrounding this view, it does seem to add weight to the argument that, as we have always maintained, if you act old, talk old, and let other people treat you as old then you will be more subject to ageism than those who refuse to collude with ageist attitudes.

Ability not age

When will the BBC start taking some responsibility in its role as a public broadcaster and stop the shocking example it sets with its ageist policies? Apparently it has now added to its list of questionable decisions by banning dancers over 35 from auditioning for new Saturday night show, So You Think You Can Dance, to be aired on BBC One next year. The BBC argues that dancers over 35 lack the physical condition to perform the challenging routines required by the show, supporting its decision with all sorts of noises about health and safety. Whilst 35 seems a completely arbitrary age (why not 33 or 37?) and laughably young compared to most ageist decisions, it clearly underlines that the BBC seems unable to grasp the basic fact that chronological age is a meaningless concept.

Decisions about fitness for purpose in any arena need to be on the basis of individual ability and in this instance, as we all know, many dancers remain incredibly able until well into their sixties and older. Yes, it does mean having to put them through some sort of fitness and ability assessment but shouldn’t they be doing this for all potential competitors anyway? The BBC’s stance is compounding that taken by many employers with respect to the retirement age, i.e. that it’s easier to hide behind a policy and a number rather than putting in the effort to properly and adequately (and fairly) performance manage your employees on an individual basis.

According to a report in the Times, The English Amateur Dancesport Association (EADA) has warned the BBC that it could face a challenge in the courts. I do hope so.

“Building a society for all ages”

The deadline has now passed, at least for the moment, to make your voice heard to the government over their proposals outlined in “Building a society for all ages” a document which focuses predominantly on the issues surrounding our ageing population. The issues are very wide-ranging and extremely important.

We here, at in my prime, made our own representations in the fields in which we operate and if you are interested in seeing what we had to say please click here 

To read the original government document click here

Old Masters?

The Elderly Accommodation Counsel (EAC) seems a useful and worthwhile organization focusing on matters relating to the living arrangements of the older generation.  However I was disturbed to hear about their Over 60s Art Awards which (to quote their website) “have been encouraging and celebrating the remarkable wealth of talent, creative energy and enthusiasm among amateur artists aged between 60 and 100+, since 1995”.

Why on earth do they feel it necessary to have a special art award for people aged over 60? If the rationale is that those in this age group are so much better than younger people (by virtue of their long years of practise) thereby making this some sort of Artistic Masters Championship then maybe there might be a point. If however, as it seems, it is simply to underline that yes, poor old dears can still hold a pencil, brush, charcoal or camera and turn out something that passes for art, then it’s downright insulting.

Surely art is an arena where age simply continues to add to expertise?  This being the case shouldn’t the good folk at the EAC simply be encouraging older artists to go and knock the socks off the judges in mainstream competitions?

How can we ever hope to overcome ageist stereotyping if it is still being reinforced in ways such as this by those who should know better?

For more information see www.eacartawards.org.uk

Another one bites the dust!

This week has seen the demise of yet another high budget, high profile over 50s social networking/lifestyle site – this time in the USA. Its name is irrelevant since it is now history.

Here, at in my prime, we carry out global research on a daily basis covering all kinds of issues as they relate to the world’s ageing population and to older people (whatever that might mean exactly). Some while ago we wrote here about the nature of sites for the over 50s and the genuine need for subject specific social networking sites, for example ones which might bring together those seeking employment or those who have been out of work for some time. This time can be very lonely, frustrating and depressing in which knowledge, advice and mutual support would be of tremendous value. We are still waiting to see one but we know it will come.

Websites, currently, tend to fall into a number of categories. There are a few sites or blogs, rather like ours, which are run by professionals in the field and which provide useful information and commentary on what is happening in the over 50s arena. I will come back to those in a future blog.

For the rest they tend to fall into three main categories.

There are some very good sites emanating from charities and central or local government which provide a wealth of information and advice and which all “silver surfers” should refer to. They tend, on the whole, to be geared towards issues affecting the more elderly end of the age spectrum.

There are sites which are run as a hobby by old codgers for old codgers. These are cosy, friendly and non-threatening but, in the end, there is a limit to how many times one can laugh at a joke about going upstairs and not remembering why.

And there are those, the ones now falling by the wayside, which are what one might call “lifestyle” sites. These are based on the false premise that “older” is a condition that you wake up to one morning having been “younger” the day before and from now on all your friends only fit into the “older” category and anything you buy must be purchased from an age-specific site – insurance, washing machines, holidays – anything. Why?

The mature market (mature meerkat?) does not operate like that and does not want to operate like that.

Pensioner? Moi?

It would be nice to think that this was irony, but somehow I think they just really don’t get it…

A recent article in the Daily Telegraph investigating older people’s views on business attitudes towards the older market (for article click here) was entitled “Half of pensioners think businesses are obsessed by youth”.

The first paragraph read: “Age Concern and Help the Aged, the newly merged charity, interviewed 1,000 people over the age of 50 and found that 57 per cent believed businesses ignored them in favour of appealing to the ‘youth market’, with 47 per cent saying they felt UK businesses were ‘youth-obsessed’. In response the charity is launching a scheme to brand certain products as ‘pensioner friendly’.”

Since when did everyone over 50 become a pensioner? Since when did “age friendly” (the actual name of the Age Concern/Help the Aged scheme) mean the same as “pensioner friendly”?

On the basis of this the Telegraph could proudly head the queue of those businesses that are obsessed by youth…

Maturity: a mystery for marketers

Our website www.inmyprime.info is now well-established and continues to be well-visited (go on, have a look if you haven’t already). As a result we are, on a daily basis, emailed and called by numerous marketing and PR people promoting products, services and stories relating to those of mature years in the hope that we will use their material.

We’re not complaining about this. Some of the stuff is very interesting and pertinent. Some of it provides us with knowledge, insight and substance we can use on the website or elsewhere. But unfortunately rather a lot of it has nothing at all to do with the market we operate in.

The array of material we get forcefully underlines just how little marketing and PR people in general understand age. The age group we focus on, as is clearly stated on our website, is 50 to 70. As such it is a totally different generation from the truly elderly which in itself is a group fragmented by health, wealth, and cognitive and other abilities. As our focus is on the mature market our only interest in products and services to do with the rather insensitively named geriatric market is in respect of things we might need or need to know about for our elderly parents or others of that age.

If this was acknowledged by hopeful young PRs we might be somewhat more receptive towards their material. As it is (without naming and shaming) we receive a load of old dross about comfy slippers, fluffy kittens, incontinence products, personal alarms… and far too many pictures of  white haired people in their seventies or eighties accompanying press releases containing the words “over 50s”.

Any PR or marketing people who would like to really make a mark on the mature market are advised to get in touch…

Challenging media portrayals of the old

Hoorah! At last there is a challenge to the way older people are portrayed in the media. Counsel and Care, a national charity that works with older people, their families and carers has launched a competition looking for good – and bad – examples of media coverage relating to older people.  As they rightly recognise, the way that older people are portrayed in the media has a crucial effect not only on how they are treated by wider society, but also by care and support services.

Their Older People in the Media Awards will recognise individuals and/or organisations for positively portraying older people and will give ‘Raspberries’ to those whose work shows older people in a negative light. The intention behind the awards is to influence journalists to think harder about what they say and write about ‘older people’.

People will be asked to nominate in eight media categories and winners will be chosen by a panel of expert judges. The closing date for entries is Tuesday 30 June 2009. Entry forms can be downloaded from their website: www.counselandcare.org.uk/influence/events

So – get nominating. I’m sure we will.