From Ageism to Age Equality: Addressing the Challenges ...

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What is Ageism?Loretta Crawley,School of Nursing and Midwifery, University College DublinIntroductionThe aim of this paper is to define ageism, to examine how ageist attitudes arise and to suggestsome ways to oppose ageism.A Definition of AgeismA widely accepted definition of ageism is, ‘the systematic stereotyping of and discrimination againstpeople simply because of their age’ (Butler, 1969).12What is Stereotyping?Stereotyping is a way of establishing what is typical about people. Research shows that there arenine main characteristics or stereotypes associated with older people (Palmore, 1999):illnessimpotenceuglinessmental declinemental illnessuselessnessisolationpovertydepression.What is Discrimination 2 ?Discrimination is defined as making an unjust distinction in the treatment of people (Palmore, 2001).If we have a stereotype in our minds of what it means to be old or what older people are like, thenwe are being ageist and we may, as a result, treat older people in a way that means we arediscriminating against them. We do this at several levels: the cognitive (or rational) level; theaffective (or emotional) level; and the behavioural level.2 This is not the legal definition as set out in equality legislation.Conference Proceedings
When we meet a person for the first time we unconsciously draw on a number of preconceptions orstereotypes that shape our actions. We make assumptions about the other person based on whatthey look like, how they dress, how they speak; we make judgements about what social group theybelong to, where they live and what age they are. These assumptions influence how we think, feeland behave towards this other person. If we hold the stereotypical view that old people are frail, forexample, we may treat an old person in a particular way. In other words, the stereotype we have ofolder people, whether it arises from what we think, know or have experienced (the cognitive) orfrom what we feel (the affective domain, our attitudes, beliefs), will influence how we behavetowards them (the behavioural domain).Stereotypes and ageism can be reinforced and reproduced by what we see and hear in our daily livesand can be represented in ageist language. The way in which older people are portrayed in themedia, for example on television, on the radio and in newspapers, not only affects older peoplethemselves but also affects the ways in which we, as a society, see them. According to Laslett(1991), embarrassing and demeaning stereotypes of older people marginalise or isolate them frommainstream society by ‘removing signs of effectiveness and worth from the elderly, disposing ofthem as of no account’.As a result of having a stereotypical view of what ageing is and what older people are, we, asindividuals, can discriminate against them in personal acts; organisations can discriminate againstthem via their policies and practices.The Impact of Ageism13There are several ways in which ageism affects the lives of older people: it decreases the power theyhave; it reduces their status; it reduces their life chances; and it devalues their social role(Thompson, 1998; Wade, 1999; The Equality Authority, 2003).MarginalisationUsing age limits, for example, can affect how we think about age and what we deem to beappropriate for people of different ages. Using upper age limits can contribute to the marginalisationof older people. Some laws discriminate through the use of upper age limits; the RedundancyPayments Act (2003), for example, does not apply to those aged over 66. Many activities andservices are closed off to older people by upper age limits without any objective justification for theiruse. Examples include:jury servicemembership of State boardsoccupational pension schemeseligibility for a driving licencehealth/motor insuranceeducation and training.From Ageism to Age Equality: Addressing the Challenges
Page 1 and 2: From Ageism to Age Equality:Address
Page 5 and 6: Introduction1
Page 7 and 8: Presentations in the Final Session
Page 9: membership of the Traveller communi
Page 12 and 13: Opening Address (1)Karen Erwin, Cha
Page 14 and 15: Opening Address (2)Sylvia Meehan, B
Page 18 and 19: Marginalisation is very often the r
Page 20 and 21: Ageism and Attitudes toOlder People
Page 22 and 23: Table 2: Perceptions of how one is
Page 24 and 25: Fear of crime was identified by ove
Page 26 and 27: Table 7: Forms of less favourable t
Page 28 and 29: Just 4 per cent of respondents aged
Page 30 and 31: Table 14: Personal preferences for
Page 32 and 33: Attitudes Towards Older PeopleTable
Page 34 and 35: Table 18: Responses to Scenario Two
Page 36 and 37: Overall, the data suggests a need a
Page 38 and 39: Postal Survey of AttitudesWe conduc
Page 40 and 41: administration and management perso
Page 42 and 43: Screening and Preventative Services
Page 44 and 45: ConclusionsThe broad aim of health
Page 46 and 47: 42Conference Proceedings
Page 48 and 49: Rooting Out AgeDiscrimination in th
Page 50 and 51: Training EventsTraining events on a
Page 52 and 53: Guide to Auditing Age Discriminatio
Page 54 and 55: Effective Involvement of Older Peop
Page 56 and 57: Combating Age Discrimination 9Liste
Page 58 and 59: 54Conference Proceedings
Page 60 and 61: The Status of Age Equality andNon-D
Page 62 and 63: equired to have adopted the two Dir
Page 64 and 65: necessary to promote awareness of i
Page 66 and 67:
Implementing Equality forOlder Peop
Page 68 and 69:
Provision of Goods, Services, Educa
Page 70 and 71:
Such an exercise, often quite simpl
Page 72 and 73:
developed as an integral part of eq
Page 74 and 75:
Older people who internalise pejora
Page 76 and 77:
When considering the implementation
Page 78 and 79:
Richard BakerRichard chairs the ant
Page 80 and 81:
Síle O’ConnorSíle O’Connor ha
Page 82 and 83:
NCAOPThe National Council on Ageing
Page 84:
The Equality AuthorityThe Equality
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