Age is a number when looking for employment
Ageism in the labour market has been rife for years. If looked at from an intersectional perspective it gets worse, as other 'isms' i.e. sexism, ableism and racism etc also are at play.
I am honest when I explain to people the only reason I became self-employed after redundancy is due to the intersectional place in the labour market I found myself in with my age on one side, sex on the other and race in-between.
The myth that many over 40s/50s work for themselves is because of some capitalistic entrepreneurial free spirit nature overlooks the fact that often it's born out of survival and necessity as we know we're locked out of the job market.
However, this is only possible for those who are economically stable. For those who aren't it can mean really downgrading back to the starting line.
Whilst many employers have been quick to jump on the D&I and unconscious bias bandwagons after BLM, how much of this work has had an intersectional lens to understand the compounding effects that other bias practices have on employment and employees, in particular in regards to age?
This is as vital a piece of equality work as racism and sexism, yet like another one that is underplayed- ableism, they do not seem to figure as prominently on the radar...I wonder why?