Building Age-inclusive Workplaces

Even in organisations with well-developed diversity and inclusion (D&I) settings, including gender-inclusive settings, there can remain strong age-based assumptions that marginalise older workers, including older women. In this chapter, we examine what an age-inclusive, age-friendly workplace looks like. We look at the lack of attention given to age in existing D&I policies, and what may be driving this. Drawing on survey and qualitative data from our case study organisations, we examine the way in which people of different ages experience age-related bias and inclusion. Men and women, and people with and without care responsibilities, experience age-related bias and inclusion differently. We reveal how age and gender are intertwined in workers’ experiences of inclusion and exclusion in workplaces. The chapter then examines the importance of age-inclusive workplaces for key outcomes such as turnover intentions, worker burnout, work engagement, and job satisfaction. Finally, we present innovative age-inclusive practices that address age-related biases and create environments that value the contributions of workers across all age groups.