Grant: Summer Program in Aging

Ageism is experienced by the majority of older Canadians. In fact, 79% of Canadians agree that older adults (75+) are less important and ignored more often than younger people and 63% of older adults (65+) report that they have been treated either differently or unfairly because of their age. Ageism is dangerous to one's mental and physical health, having been linked to depression, anxiety, coronary heart disease, chronic lung disease, and arthritis. As Canadians continue to live and work longer, the workplace has become an increasingly important space in which older adults can face age-based discrimination. Many older workers are facing ageist behaviours such as having work contributions ignored, being left out of decisions that affect one's work, and being talked down to by co-workers and employers. My doctoral work will investigate the growing disconnect between scholarship that highlights the strategies employers utilize to limit ageism in the workplace and older workers' lived experiences. This will inform my overarching research question: "how can older workers' (55+) experiences of ageism inform reimagined anti-ageism policies and practices?" My proposed research will privilege the lived realities of older workers while bringing forward entirely new ways to enact anti-ageism policy and practice. This will, in turn, make the workplace safe for aging employees and contribute to more positive health outcomes.