Talking Shop: Techs feel the sting of age discrimination

by Mike Walton | Jul 27, 2001 7:00:00 AM

Tags: Mike Walton

Takeaway: How to battle age discrimination

The popular images of the IT industry are filled with glimpses of trendy offices, casual wear, and young brilliant techs working long hours, trying to be the next IT success story. What’s missing from these glimpses is the older tech. Not so much gray but definitely older than the twentysomethings that have such a strong foothold in the IT job market. But why are these experienced techs missing from the industry’s landscape? Is the tech world suffering from age discrimination? To find out, we posted a survey to see what effect age had on hiring, promotions, and salaries. The results were discouraging.

Two-thirds of those who took our survey said they had been discriminated against because of their age, and nearly half had seen someone else in their IT support department discriminated against for that same reason (see Figure A).


If you think only older IT workers took our survey, think again. Figure B shows an even distribution of age groups. Experience level was also well dispersed, with only a slight concentration in the one to 10 year range.


The effects of and response to age discrimination
When people suffer age discrimination, it can take several forms, including:

• Not being hired
• Receiving a lower salary
• Being denied a promotion

Our survey found that of those who felt discriminated against, the majority said they had not been hired. Of the respondents who reported seeing someone else being discriminated against, the majority said that the other individual had not been promoted. It is unclear why one group felt that not being hired was the outcome of the age discrimination, while the other group felt that being denied a promotion was the result. Perhaps it’s because office politics keep discrimination within the company’s ranks lower profile than the less loyalty-driven hiring process allows.

Our survey also found that the majority of respondents took no action against the company that discriminated against them. This is the case for three-quarters of the respondents who believe they were discriminated against. As for the group who reported seeing someone else being discriminated against, two-thirds of the time, there were no actions taken when the discrimination happened (see Figure C).


 

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Age limit in IT?
Have you been discriminated against in the IT field because of your age? Do you know someone else who has? How do you know that age was used to discriminate against you or a peer? Tell us what you think in the discussion below or send us a note.

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Print/View all Posts Comments on this article

Did the Dot-Bombs cause this? jpr75 | 07/28/01

price discrimination donthom@... | 08/03/01

Another side to this corey@... | 08/03/01

Flexibility???? techguy10453@... | 08/08/01

I've been there SeenItBefore | 08/29/02

Following Direction? Flexible? null | 12/14/01

Age discrimantion holden@... | 12/14/01

I was hired for my maturity - twice!! ckonrad27@... | 07/30/01

It probably depends.... rcsteinbach@... | 07/31/01

Another form of discrimination grahamhowell@... | 08/03/01

Re: age should not be a LIMITING FACTOR! varush@... | 09/28/01

Hired for maturity MagicTom | 12/14/01

age should not be a LIMITING FACTOR! monbisht | 07/30/01

I totally agree! Andy O'Donnell | 08/02/01

re: I totally agree! T Bowman | 08/03/01

...and the kitchen sink serw | 08/03/01

Remember the Lesson debbieds | 08/03/01

Age should never be a limiting factor Miguel A | 08/03/01

Perceived discrimination bravosierra@... | 07/30/01

Hard data generalist@... | 07/31/01

I don't perceive anything... fivecoate@... | 08/06/01

favoritism without merit jolee77uk@... | 08/02/01

That happens everywhere SharHite | 08/03/01

Discrimination outside the USA stanley@... | 08/03/01

You must build your foundations... accolon@... | 08/03/01

How do I know? NetRX | 08/03/01

How do I know? rabidpro@... | 08/03/01

Business Owner Effect generalist@... | 08/03/01

I bet your "over qualified" dawuf@... | 08/16/01

58 Years Old and Always Employed ChuckSchultz@... | 08/03/01

At the interview bmilks@... | 08/03/01

age discrimination marah_stone@... | 08/03/01

This really exists! dawuf@... | 08/03/01

Employed But Not Liking It barringer54@... | 08/03/01

Fighting back generalist@... | 08/03/01

Root Cause: Management Immaturity JNolan3 | 08/03/01

re: root cause mstrong@... | 08/03/01

Federal government keven_jahr@... | 08/04/01

Feds breaking the law generalist@... | 08/07/01

And the secret is... NickNielsen | 09/28/01

age discrimination papaporce@... | 08/06/01

Hard data and sham interviews generalist@... | 08/06/01

Unclear question? nn128 | 08/06/01

Ah, Yes...Age Discrimination!! b_e_hall@... | 08/07/01

Data Based on "Feelings" is Faulty maryszt | 08/08/01

Ah! Statistics! generalist@... | 08/08/01

Feelings is all you get. null | 12/14/01

Bias reduction generalist@... | 12/14/01

Discrimination is a State of Mind LTSallie | 08/08/01

Too Young windowhiz | 08/09/01

Waiting generalist@... | 08/10/01

Another possibility generalist@... | 08/10/01

Ditto comptech3 | 12/14/01

Age Discrimination in Australia ramnet@... | 09/28/01

Age Discrimination Alive and Well AndyMcK | 09/28/01

Do your figures also show ... lxadmin@... | 09/29/01

Agree lwilke | 10/19/01

Been there john_agudelo@... | 12/14/01

Age Discrimination Jake_Elwood | 12/14/01

What to do? paul.hudson@... | 12/14/01

Age Discrimination is alive and well 1scuba@... | 12/14/01

How do you prove discrimination? ITPaul | 12/14/01