Title: Ageism: the youth perspective – Ageing Equal
Headings: Ageism: the youth perspective
Ageism: the youth perspective
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Content: Ageism: the youth perspective – Ageing Equal
Ageism, Ageism and Intergenerational Solidarity, Blogposts October 29, 2018
Ageism: the youth perspective
Ageism is more ingrained than other forms of discrimination, and it is used to discriminate against young people on an individual level, but also on a wider, structural level. The European Youth Forum is shedding light on employment, access to social protection and political participation as a case in point of ageism towards younger people! When it comes to employment, the belief that young people are inexperienced and need to get a foot on the labour market – often at any cost – reigns supreme. While this may seem like a logical assumption, it can actually have disastrous effects on young people’s transition to independence and autonomy. Providing the opportunity for young people to gain valuable on-the-job experience is often used to justify unjust practices such as youth minimum wages, whereby young people receive a wage below the national minimum wage because of their age. The ILO has indicated that youth wages potentially conflict with the principle of equal pay for work of equal value. The need to gain ‘valuable experience’ is also used to promote the practice of unpaid internships, which are completely inaccessible to those young people who do not have the means to support themselves in undertaking unpaid work. Given these constraints, young people are increasingly turning to non-standard forms of employment, where job security is poor, wages are low, and even the most basic workers’ rights are not met.