- Version
- Download 7
- File Size 279.07 KB
- File Count 1
- Create Date January 16, 2025
- Last Updated January 16, 2025
Ageism: An Aggravated Challenge faced by Working Women
Aged population is increasing fastly in the present era globally. It is estimated that by 2030 the share older
population (60 years and above) increases up to 1.4 billion from 1 billion in 2020 which indicated that in 2030, 1
out of 6 people will be aged (World Health Organization, 2021)i
. This rapid increase in the elderly population
because of the demographic changes creates the serious problem of age discrimination for these elderly people.
This age discrimination is termed as “Ageism”. Robert Butler first used the term “Ageism” in 1969, to define the
prejudice or discrimination against or in favour of particular age groupii. WHO defines ageism as:
“Ageism refers to the stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination towards others or oneself based on age”.iii
Ageism is observed inside organisation, interpersonal interaction and sometime within ourselves. One out of every
two older people are facing the age discrimination around the world and contrary to this in Europe, younger people
are facing higher ageism than other age groups
iv. Ageism affects both younger and older people, as both age
groups are generally considered as dependent member of the society instead of productive members of society
(Angus and Reeve 2006)v
. Ageism against younger people manifests across many areas such as employment,
health, housing mainly. Among elderly, ageism is linked to poor physical and mental health, increased social
isolation and loneliness, increased financial insecurity, lower quality of life, and early death. In addition to that,
Ageism is thought to be responsible for 6.3 million incidents of depression worldwidevi
.
