Title: Ageism: the youth perspective – Ageing Equal
Headings: Ageism: the youth perspective
Ageism: the youth perspective
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Content: 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. The view that any job is better than unemployment has shifted the focus away from quality jobs; a dangerous approach that is leading to a race to the bottom, when it comes to labour rights and standards. Access to social protection can also be hindered by age-based criteria. In some countries, young people must be above a certain age to access minimum income schemes, while access to unemployment benefits is often linked to length of prior employment. Such exclusion has knock-on effects later in life.