Need for a diverse approach to ageism highlighted

Being poor or disabled can make a person up to four times more likely to be subjected to ageism, according to new research by the Centre for Ageing Better.

A third (32%) of people over 50 who are struggling financially reported experiencing ageism at least sometimes in the last year compared to fewer than one in 10 (8%) people in the same age group who are living comfortably.

Two in five (41%) individuals with long-term conditions that greatly affect daily activities said they experienced ageism at least sometimes in the past year compared to around one in eight people (13%) with no long-term conditions at all.

The new data analysis also reveals that being a woman or having a Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME) background also increases the likelihood of experiencing ageism.

More than a quarter (26%) of over 50s with BAME backgrounds reported experiencing ageism at least sometimes in the last year compared to fewer than one in five (18%) White people in the same age group.

Among over 50s surveyed, 47% of women compared to 43% of men said they had experienced ageism at least once in the last 12 months.

In total, around half (45%) of people aged over 50 have experienced ageism in the last year – equivalent to 9.3 million people in England.

This includes 5.1 million women, 3.6 million Disabled people and 1.2 million people with BAME backgrounds.

Dr Carole Easton OBE, Chief Executive at the Centre for Ageing Better, said: “Discrimination based on more than one characteristic has the power to increase the harm and impact of inequality. Discrimination on the grounds of age alone has been shown to be associated with a measurable decline in health. Our research also shows how groups of people can be hit with a one-two punch of ageism alongside other forms of discrimination, adding extra barriers and layers of inequality as they age. The combination of ageism and ableism, for example, has been shown to be very damaging for Disabled people.”

The Centre for Ageing Better is calling for greater action to tackle society’s growing ethnic inequalities through a new race equality strategy that would aim to reduce disparities across the life course.

The strategy would, amongst other things, look to tackle the ethnicity data gap by ensuring ethnicity data reporting becomes mandatory in all official and statutory statistics and data monitoring so that the experiences of individual communities are made visible in government data.

Ageing Better is also calling for the establishment of a Commissioner for Older People and Ageing to give a voice to marginalised groups of older people and ensure that policymaking across government considers the long-term needs of the country’s ageing population and aims to reduce inequality in later life.

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