Age discrimination

Age discrimination ___ employment may differ somewhat ___ race and gender discrimination, in that it does

not usually take the form ___ wage discrimination. Older workers, ___ average, make more than younger

workers do. Firms may be afraid to offer older workers lower wages than younger workers. Instead they will

simply not promote or not hire an older worker. They may also encourage early retirement or layoff

disproportionately older/more experienced workers.

Although, like all forms of discrimination, age discrimination has always been a problem, it is most severe

___ present ___ the entertainment and computer industries. Many elderly actors, musicians, scriptwriters,

programmers, and electrical engineers have all complained that it is difficult ___ them to find work, even

though they are well-qualified ___ terms ___ education and experience.

Age discrimination ___ hiring has been shown to exist in the United States. Joanna Lahey, Economics

professor at Texas A&M, found that firms are more than 40% more likely to interview a younger job applicant

than an older job applicant.

In a survey for the University of Kent, England, 29% of respondents stated that they had suffered ___ age

discrimination. This is a higher proportion than ___ gender or race discrimination. Dominic Abrams, Social

Psychology professor at the University, concluded that ageism is the most pervasive form of prejudice

experienced ___ the UK population.

___ a recent interview, famed actor Pierce Brosnan cited ageism as one of the contributing factors as to why

he was not cast as James Bond in the Bond film, Casino Royale, released in 2006.