31% employees experience age-related discrimination

Overall 31 per cent of employees in India have experienced age-related discriminations across sectors with the highest prevalence reported in multinational companies, a study said on Monday.

The 'Ageism in the Workplace' study by talent company Randstad India revealed that 31 per cent of employees in India have experienced discriminations due to their age and such discriminations are mostly prevalent during recruitment process, especially in job advertisements of organisations. About 61 per cent respondents said job advertisements in India have age biases (qualifying age criteria or years of experience), it added. In India around 42 per cent of employees interviewed, aged below 55 years, have experienced or witnessed ageism or age related discriminations at their workplaces, compared to 29 per cent aged above 55 years, said the study. The data suggested that younger age groups faced more age discriminations than older age groups as there was a general lack of trust in the youngest age group's abilities and skills while the oldest age group experienced the privilege of age-based and seniority-based respect.