Examples Of Ageism In Diversity

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Ageism in Diversity Ageism is something that is often overlooked in our culture. People often don't consider the importance that older or elderly people have in our society. These people should be respected and taken care of, but many are still working to survive. The government does little to support the older generations, and society often looks over them when hiring and filling positions at workplaces. The following report will investigate this diverse part of our society, and show how older people are reflected and treated in our culture. It is important to future generations moral and societal development to show how important previous generations are, and helps to prove how important equal treatment amongst all ages is. Ageism…show more content…
There is one instance that stands out in my mind however, and it happened a couple of weeks ago while I was at work. My supervisor was growing more and more irritated with an older employee, and finally erupted at her when asked for help with something. She screamed at my co-worker that people who can't keep up with a job and learn faster ought to retire and leave. I don't think I will ever forget the look on my co-workers face. I felt such sadness and concern for her, but I was unsure of what to do. This situation is what inspired my topic. There are many things that disturb me about how elderly people are treated. I find it incredibly appalling when I hear stories about elderly people who were brushed aside in our health care system when they needed surgery because a younger, healthier person needed to have a procedure done. My grandmother was once told by a physician that she must not want to go through the hassle of heart surgery “at her age”, as if there was little to no point in her having it done. I also find it very disturbing to hear about incidences of elder abuse, with vulnerable seniors being taken advantage of and/or abused physically and/or emotionally,or…show more content…
I was amazed to learn her story. In her late 50s, she decided to go to university, and by the time she was 68 she had 3 degrees including a Masters, which she'd got at Oxford, and she was hired by Huntsville Library as their head librarian. She was responsible for completely modernizing their systems with computers and so on. There are many active, determined, open minded senior people out there who are, I believe, unaffected by ageism because they are so strong within themselves. It's only my opinion but it seems that way to me. Either they are not affected by it, or perhaps when it hits, it just slides off their backs, or better yet, they stand up to it. Conclusion I am aware that ageism does exist, but other than the incident above at my work, and the trouble with my grandmother and her doctor disregarding her, I have not really experienced it personally, but it disturbs me that it even does exist. That a person could be disregarded, minimized, taken advantage of, abused, neglected just because he or she happens to be 60+ makes me sick to my stomach. I plan to advocate and be a help to people such as these in my future career as a social service worker. References 1. Canadian Free Press. (2012, May 29). Baby boomers push back against age discrimination. Retrieved from

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