According to our Senior Advocate, "Ageism is one of the most pervasive forms of discrimination — and a lot of people are guilty of it.
The following is from a report from Revera on Agism (pdf file) in Canada. Despite an aging population, ageism is widespread in Canada.
It is the most tolerated form of social prejudice when compared to gender– or
race-based discrimination.
• Six-in-ten
(63%) seniors 66 years of age and older say they have been treated unfairly or
differently because of their age
• One-in-three
(35%) Canadians admit they have treated someone differently because of their
age; this statistic goes as high as 43% for Gen X and 42% for Gen Y
• Half (51%)
of Canadians say ageism is the most tolerated social prejudice when compared to
gender- or race-based discrimination
• Eight-in-ten
(79%) Canadians agree that seniors 75 and older are seen as less important and
are more often ignored than younger generations in society
• Seven-in-ten
(71%) agree that Canadian society values younger generations more than older
generations • One-in-five (21%) Canadians say older Canadians are a burden on
society
Ageism does not discriminate. It comes in many forms and from
many different sources.
• Age discrimination towards seniors 66 and older comes
primarily from younger people (56%). More than one-in-four (27%) seniors say
they’ve experienced age discrimination from government and more than one-third
(34%) from healthcare professionals and the healthcare system
• Nearly
nine-in-ten seniors 66 and older who encountered ageism from the government,
attribute it to programs and policies that do not take into account the needs
of older people
• Nearly
eight-in-ten seniors 66 and older who reported age discrimination in
healthcare, said a healthcare professional had dismissed their complaints as an
inevitable sign of aging
• The three
most common forms of age discrimination faced by Canadian seniors include:
§ being
ignored or treated as though they are invisible (41%)
§ being
treated like they have nothing to contribute (38%)
§ assuming
that they are incompetent (27%)It’s clear that if we don’t address ageism as a
societal issue now,
It will compound and become more entrenched as our population
ages. Change however, won’t happen overnight, and it is not the exclusive
responsibility of any one group. In collaboration and consultation with older
people, individuals, organizations and policy makers all have a role to play in
building an age-inclusive society. As individuals and as a society, we must
shine a light on the issue of ageism.
We need to recognize, call out and
challenge the negative stereotypes and assumptions about aging and older
people. Rather than make assumptions about an individual’s abilities or quality
of life based on their age, we need to be open-minded, view aging with optimism
and reach out to older adults as vibrant, important and valued contributors to
society.
Organizations need to raise awareness of ageism and be active
contributors to ending it. As employers, the value and significant
contributions older workers can and do make should not be overlooked.
We also need to better understand and meet the diverse needs
of older consumers – after all, they encompass a broad age range, and the needs
of a 65-year-old may be quite different to those of an 85-year-old. Policy
makers, both government and non-governmental agencies, need to collaborate and
plan for an age-inclusive Canada.
Building on the work that governments are already doing,
there needs to be continued focus on developing policies that enable people of
all ages to have the choices they need to live their lives to the fullest. Canadians overall have a negative perception of aging.
• 89 per cent
of Canadians associate aging with something negative like not being able to get
around easily, losing independence or being alone
• Gen Y and
Gen X are the most likely to hold a negative perception of aging; they are the
least likely to think people 75 and older are pleasant, independent or healthy,
yet the most likely to describe them as grumpy. A further one-in-three describe
them as dependent, sick or frail
Finally, the
older you get, the more optimistic you are about aging.
• While the
majority of seniors 66 and older are optimistic about aging, the opposite is true
of younger generations, specifically Gen Y’s and Gen X’s
• Canadians
66 and older are the most likely to associate aging with something positive
like having more time to do things they love and more time to spend with those
they care about, as well as being wiser and more self-assured
• Seniors 66
and older are the most likely to say “age is just a number” (41%) and approximately
two-in-five say “you never stop living life to the fullest” (36%) and “the best
is yet to come” (40%)
No comments:
Post a Comment