Age Diversity for the 21st Century

By Alexandra Lopez-Pacheco, Associate, ThirdQuarter, a division of Skills Connect Inc.

There is a widespread prejudice in Canada resulting in workplace policies and approaches that undermine the contribution and potential of the employees being discriminated against, often demoralizing them to the point their self-confidence becomes threadbare despite proven capabilities and successes. It also creates conflicts between workers and filters out a significant percentage of highly valuable skilled people in the recruitment process. And, it sabotages collaboration and productivity within teams, while shutting the door on insights and innovations that can help organizations better service customers and increase their reach and market. Despite this prejudice's profound impact, it is so engrained that it is invisible even to those committed to leveraging diversity and building respectful workplaces. As a result, human resources professionals and organizations are not being proactive in developing strategies to address it.

View full article in the Spring 2015 issue of HRmatters