Under the Equality Act, there are 9 ‘protected characteristics’.
These are, in no particular order:
1. Age
2. Disability
3. Gender reassignment
4. Marriage and civil partnership
5. Pregnancy and maternity
6. Race
7. Religion or belief
8. Sex
9. Sexual orientation
Incredible isn’t it that the protected characteristic of age has, to date, received little attention.
Everyone gets older. Everyone has an age. And age goes across all the other 8 protected characteristics.
So why is age now getting attention when it has always been one of the 9 protected characteristics?
Have you noticed that things tend to go in phases. Gender was in the spotlight, then race with Black Lives matters etc. So now, it is age’s turn.
Why is this happening now?
Reasons include:
An aging population.
Changing composition of the workforce.
Skills shortages requiring a rethink about sourcing talent and talent pools.
A need for some workers to work longer than the retirement age, due to longer life expectancy or a pensions shortfall.
The impact of the rising cost of living.
What other reasons would you add?
So what is the best way for your organisation to get focused on the topic of age-inclusion and multi-generational workplaces?
Tips
Do an age-inclusion audit of a department in your organisation or all staff.
Arrange a call with one of the ProAge team so that we can understand your needs/requirement.
Book an age-inclusion mentoring session.
Assign budget in your L+D strategy for multi-generational training for your managers and leaders.
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