Age as a Cultural Diversity Issue: Ageism and Competency

Introduction

Age is an important aspect of cultural diversity that often goes ignored. For that reason, ageism is a particularly problematic issue. Racism and sexism are frequently reported on, but prejudice against the elderly is not commonly addressed in public discourse. For example, former presidential candidate Joe Biden was often mocked on social media by people engaging in ageist behavior—attacking him for allegedly being senile or having dementia because he stuttered or stumbled in his speech or train of thought while campaigning. What people do not realize is that they would likely not fare any better were they to hit the campaign trail and deliver numerous speeches themselves. As Albom (2019) notes, "jabs at Joe Biden mask our growing ageism issue."

This paper discusses the cultural factors regarding age, developmental theory models, relevant laws, other diversity issues, resources available for special services, and personal characteristics relevant to cultural competency around age. The central argument is that age is a diversity issue that needs more attention, as there is a high degree of ageism in this country—particularly among young people who derogatorily refer to their elders as "boomers" and who have no hesitation in mocking the elderly for what appears to them to be cognitive decline.

Historical, Political, Social, Economic, and Cultural Factors Regarding Age

In older societies, age was revered and one was taught to respect one's elders. This was the customary practice in both the East and the West. However, in the twentieth century there was a marked shift in terms of the generation gap: the younger generation adopted more liberal values, while the older generation viewed younger people as lacking respect, a work ethic, commitment, and basic manners. Cultural norms around deference and respect were disintegrated all over the world (David, 2018).

With the 2008 global economic crisis, many older persons who would ordinarily have retired continued working, fearing that their economic futures were not secure. As a result, the workforce is aging in the twenty-first century (Heggeness, Carter-Johnson, Schaffer, & Rockey, 2016). This creates certain challenges for management today, including the reality that the workplace now consists of multiple generations of workers, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Issues such as ageism, appropriate motivational approaches, and the physical limitations of older workers must all be addressed. With more than a third of today's workers now expecting to work past retirement age, an aging workforce is fast becoming a reality and creating an increased need for cultural competency with respect to age (Lassila, 2019).

Developmental Theory Models

Erikson's Psychosocial Developmental Theory explains how the various stages of one's life play out in terms of a central conflict at each age. The first stage is Trust vs. Mistrust, occurring between the ages of 0 and 2. The second is Autonomy vs. Shame, occurring between ages 2 and 3. Third is Initiative vs. Guilt for children ages 3–5. Fourth is Industry vs. Inferiority for children ages 5–12, and fifth is Identity vs. Role Confusion for adolescents ages 12–18. Sixth is Intimacy vs. Isolation for adults ages 18–40. Seventh is Generativity vs. Stagnation for ages 40–65. The eighth and final stage is Ego Integrity vs. Despair from age 65 onward (McLeod, 2018). From this model one can see how age shapes one's worldview, as every stage presents its own conflict as the individual finds his or her place in the world. This perspective can be combined with labeling theory, which adds complexity to the analysis of age by incorporating the biases and prejudices that people bring to their interactions with others.

Labeling theory posits that people apply negative labels to others as a way of marginalizing them and taking power from them. Those who want power over others label them with derogatory terms to signal that what those others are or do is different and unacceptable (Lumen, 2019). When young people label older people as handicapped or senile, they are not attempting to honor or respect their elders; rather, they are attempting to marginalize them and strip them of power. This has real effects on older people. For example, one of the major challenges that older adults face in terms of mental health is depression (Landeiro, Barrows, Musson, Gray, & Leal, 2017). If younger people would stop labeling older people in derogatory ways, they could actually help them and contribute to a more stable and harmonious society. For instance, a therapeutic method that helps elderly people dealing with depression is reminiscence group therapy (Liu, Lin, Chen, & Huang, 2007). Younger people could participate in this therapy as a form of community service, since older people enjoy reminiscing and sharing their experiences with the younger generation. Passing on knowledge to the next generation is an innate human desire.

Relevant Laws That Have Helped Access to Care

The Affordable Care Act helped to increase coverage for millions of Americans, including the elderly. That healthcare law ensured that all people, regardless of age, could receive greater access to care and be treated equally. It also required health care workers to provide more preventive care.

Another relevant law, as the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (2018) notes, is Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which "prohibits workplace discrimination based on religion, national origin, race, color, or sex," and which served as the basis for the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA). The ADEA established that age discrimination is illegal in the workplace and that workers who feel they have been treated unfairly because of their age have legal recourse and are entitled to the protections afforded by their basic human rights. People who believe they have been discriminated against on the basis of age have the right to sue and seek an end to the prejudice they face in the workplace.

Conclusion

Age is an issue in culture that deserves more attention because it is not something that always surfaces when the discussion turns to diversity. Many factors influence diversity—race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status—but age is often left off that list, which is unfortunate because ageism is clearly on the rise. Older people face bias from younger people, but younger people can also be prejudiced against by their elders. The generation gap has been a problem for decades, and it is intensifying as the workforce ages. Multiple generations now coexist in the workplace: Millennials are mixing with Generation X and Baby Boomers, and Generation Z is about to join the mix, making the dynamic even more complex.

Cultural competency is needed so that all generations can be understood and so that all have access to the care they require. Every age group has the right to respect and should not have to fear prejudice from those who wish to affix labels to them. Labeling others on the basis of age, race, gender, or class is a mechanism of marginalization, and that practice must be eliminated if workplaces and communities are to become genuinely inclusive.

References

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