Overcoming Ageism (HBR Women at Work Series)

The one "ism" that affects us all.

Everyone experiences age-related bias at some point in their careers, but for women the costs are greater, since gender and age accrue to make you a double target for bias. Sure, there are laws and organizational rules prohibiting age-related discrimination, but those don''t always translate to lived experience. Ageism affects the opportunities you have access to at work, how others perceive and value you, your health and well-being, and your income.

Ageism can affect how we see ourselves, too; for example, not throwing our hat in the ring for a promotion because we think we''ve begun the slow march to retirement, or because we think we''re too new to the workforce to be climbing the career ladder.

But you can change the narrative around age for the better. Even if you''re not a leader or policy maker, you can make a positive impact through how you talk about age, what you do when you witness bias, and what you enco