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Creating an Age-Diverse Workplace

April 2022

Authors:

Older Persons' Rights Project

Organizations have committed to investing more money and resources than ever before to increasing diversity and inclusion ("D&I"). According to the Winter 2022 Fortune/Deloitte CEO Survey, 94% of the CEOs listed D&I as a personal strategic priority, 90% of those surveyed confirmed that their organizations aspired to be industry leaders in D&I and more than half of the CEOs reported that as of June 2021 they believed they had succeeded with respect to building D&I into their strategic priorities and goals. However, skepticism regarding commitments to D&I and the efficacy of programs remains quite high, with one report finding that roughly 80% of companies were "just going through the motions and not holding themselves accountable". Gender, knowledge, skills, experience and ethnicity/nationality/race are the most common dimensions addressed in the D&I strategies covered in PwC's 2015 survey; however, surveys indicate that only a small percentage of organization include age as part of their D&I strategies and that even among those organizations the strategy selected is inadequate (e.g., simply encouraging those of different generations to focus on their similarities and/or denying the reality of their differences altogether). This chapter describes best practices for creating an age-diverse workplace as a fundamental goal of D&I strategy.

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Creating an Age-Diverse Workplace

Alan S. Gutterman

_______________

Organizations have committed to investing more money and resources than ever before to increasing

diversity and inclusion (“D&I”). According to the Winter 2022 Fortune/Deloitte CEO Survey, 94% of the

CEOs listed D&I as a personal strategic priority, 90% of those surveyed confirmed that their organizations

aspired to be industry leaders in D&I and more than half of the CEOs reported that as of June 2021 they

believed they had succeeded with respect to building D&I into their strategic priorities and goals.

However, skepticism regarding commitments to D&I and the efficacy of programs remains quite high, with

one report finding that roughly 80% of companies were “just going through the motions and not holding

themselves accountable”. Gender, knowledge, skills, experience and ethnicity/nationality/race are the most

common dimensions addressed in the D&I strategies covered in PwC’s 2015 survey; however, surveys

indicate that only a small percentage of organizations include age as part of their D&I strategies and that

even among those organizations the strategy selected is inadequate (e.g., simply encouraging those of

different generations to focus on their similarities and/or denying the reality of their differences altogether).

This chapter describes best practices for creating an age-diverse workplace as a fundamental goal of D&I

strategy.

_______________

In its 2015 Annual Global CEO Survey, the global consulting firm PwC noted that

“[v]iews about diversity and inclusiveness seem to have reached a tipping point … [and

are] [n]o longer … seen as ‘soft’ issues, but rather as crucial competitive capabilities”.

The following quote from Denise Ramos, then the CEO and President of ITT sums up the

A marketplace without boundaries? Responding to disruption (PwC 18th Annual Global CEO Survey,

2015), 28.

Older Persons’ Right to Work and Productive Resources

appears at the end of this Work.

strategic imperative for businesses: “We want people in the company that have differing

ideas, differing experiences, differing opinions, because we need to solve our customers’

problems. The only way you do that in a world-class way is to bring a variety of people

together and utilize their collective know-how. Diversity and inclusion will make us that

much more competitive in the marketplace.”

In fact, 64% of the CEOs surveyed in 2015

indicated that their companies had a formal Diversity and Inclusion (“D&I”) strategy, and

85% of them believed that a D&I strategy had improved their bottom line and benefitted

innovation, collaboration, customer satisfaction, emerging customer needs and the ability

to harness technology.

Two important trends have been driving increased focus on diversity, defined by the U.S.

Department of Labor as “the infinite range of individuals’ unique attributes and

experiences such as ethnicity, gender, age and disability,” and D&I now has a far-

reaching impact on businesses that spans brand, purpose and performance. The first

trend has been the growing body of evidence of the strong positive relationships between

diversity and business performance and worker satisfaction. Diversity enables companies

to tap into the knowledge and experience available in different cultures and belief

systems. A McKinsey analysis of racial and gender diversity at firms in 15 countries

from 2014 to 2020 found that the top quartile of firms measured on employee diversity

outperformed the bottom quartile on metrics such as operating profit margins. The

McKinsey researchers noted that the returns on diversity were stronger on race than on

gender and appeared to be increasing over time. In addition, many studies have provided

support for the idea that diverse teams are better at innovation, at least when team leaders

are able to successfully build a capability for creative abrasion.

The second trend, no less important than the first, has been a change in the social, cultural

and political environment that has heightened sensitivity among employees and other

stakeholders to workplace diversity and inclusion. D&I, which require addressing and

eliminating long-standing practices of discrimination in activities relating to the

employment relationship, are now treated as issues of fairness, social justice and human

rights.

For example, the International Labour Organization (“ILO”) has declared that

freedom from discrimination in employment is a fundamental human right and that it is

Id.

Id. at 28 and 31 (also reporting that CEOs who saw more opportunities at the time of the Global Survey

than three years before “were more likely than those who see more threats to have a diversity and

inclusiveness strategy, and to have seen a range of benefits from that strategy”). See also Leveraging the

Value of an Age-Diverse Workforce (SHRM Foundation Executive Briefing), 2 (noting that research

conducted by the AARP Public Policy Institute among companies seeking to integrate better D&I practices

for an age-diverse workforce found that D&I in isolation is no longer a sufficient goal, but must be part of

the organization’s overall strategy; a good D&I strategy can have a positive effect on employee

engagement, productivity and the bottom line; and changing demographics mean that attracting and

retaining a workforce that mirrors the diversity of the organization’s customer or client base is vital to

success). D&I is also sometimes referred to as “DEI” to include “equality” along with “diversity” and

“inclusion”.

The great awakening?, The Economist (June 13, 2020), 49.

J. Bourke, S. Garr, A. van Berkel and J. Wong, “Diversity and inclusion: The reality gap”, Deloitte

Insights (February 28, 2017).

Older Persons’ Right to Work and Productive Resources

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essential for workers to be able to choose their employment freely, develop their potential

to the full and reap economic rewards on the basis of merit.

As noted by Martin and North in 2021, the years following the PwC were marked by the

emergence of social justice movement and “the likes of ‘Black Lives Matter’ and

‘#MeToo’ suggested that social justice advocates were finding new, creative ways to

coalesce”.

Organizations committed to investing more money and resources than ever

before to increasing diversity.

According to the Winter 2022 Fortune/Deloitte CEO

Survey, 94% of the CEOs listed D&I as a personal strategic priority, 90% of those

surveyed confirmed that their organizations aspired to be industry leaders in D&I and

more than half of the CEOs reported that as of June 2021 they believed they had

succeeded with respect to building D&I into their strategic priorities and goals.

However, skepticism regarding commitments to D&I and the efficacy of programs

remains quite high, with one report finding that “roughly 80% of companies are just

going through the motions and not holding themselves accountable.

_______________

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Equality, diversity and inclusion are three related concepts that are all essential to a productive and happy

workforce and a fair and just society for everyone. Equality comes from equal access to opportunities, free

of discrimination; however, the full range of opportunities will only be available when there is respect for

diversity and a willingness to include everyone in decisions regarding their lives. A related concept is

social justice, which has been described as fair and just relations between an individual and society at large

as measured by the distribution of wealth opportunities for personal activity and social privileges.

Equality: The guarantee of fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for all while striving to

identify and eliminate barriers that have prevented the full participation of some groups. Sometimes

referred to as “equity”, this concept is based on the acknowledgement that there are groups that have

historically been unfairly under-served and under-represented and that conditions need to be changed for all

groups, including them, to enjoy equal access and realization of opportunities. Under the law, equality is

supposedly “guaranteed” to members of stipulated protected classes based on characteristics such as age,

gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, race, color, religion, marital status, pregnancy and maternity

and disability and protection extends to actions such as discrimination, harassment and victimization.

However, many would argue that the laws that have been passed have not been sufficient to provide equal

opportunities for everyone or protect everyone from discrimination.

A. Martin and M. North, “Equality for (almost) all: Egalitarian advocacy predicts lower endorsement of

sexism and racism, but not ageism”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (2021), 22 (citing A.

Munnell, “Borrowing from Social Security is the wrong way to finance student debt and parental leave”,

MarketWatch (February 21, 2018)).

Id. at 23 (citing O. Staley, “Out of corporate America’s diversity failures, a new industry is emerging”,

Quartz (October 10, 2017)).

Winter 2022 Fortune/Deloitte CEO Survey (as discussed in How to Measure Diversity and Inclusion:

Understanding If Your DEI Programs Are Working (Millan Data Science Strategies).

J. Bersin and K. Enderes, “Elevating Equity: The Real Story of Diversity and Inclusion”, Josh Bersin

Academy and Perceptyx (2020) (also noting the following “five essential strategies” for D&I excellence:

Listen, hear, and act; strengthen HR capabilities in all roles; engage senior leadership commitment; set

goals and measure; and create accountability for results).

Older Persons’ Right to Work and Productive Resources

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Diversity: Includes but is not limited to race, color, ethnicity, nationality, religion, socioeconomic status,

veteran status, education, marital status, language, age, gender, gender expression, gender identity, sexual

orientation, mental or physical ability, genetic information, work experience, lifestyles and learning styles.

Notably, the concept of diversity, which refers to recognizing and respecting the differences found among

all individuals in society, has broadened and expanded beyond the legally protected groups mentioned

above as time has gone by and economic, social and political conditions have changed, as evidenced by the

inclusion of socioeconomic status.

Inclusion: Authentically bringing traditionally excluded individuals and/or groups into processes,

activities, and decision/policy making in a way that shares power and ensures equal access to opportunities

and resources. Inclusion empowers diversity by ensuring that once the rights of all groups are recognized

everyone has the same access, opportunities and resources to achieve their aspirations. Inclusion also

enhances a person’s feelings of value, dignity and respect in the workplace and in society generally.

Sources: K. Armstrong, What Exactly is Diversity, Equity and Inclusion?, NACE (June 25, 2019); UC

Berkeley Division of Equity and Inclusion; University of Houston’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion; and

Wikipedia (Social Justice).

_______________

Legal Standards

While there are strong ethical and business arguments in favor of D&I, it must also be

addressed as part of the efforts to adhere to applicable legal and voluntary standards. For

example, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)–(d) (2006),

prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national

origin).

Notably, age is not a protected class under Title VII; however, the Age

Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (“ADEA”) (29 U.S.C. §§ 621–634 (1967)),

which was passed during the Great Society to address a range of discriminatory actions

against older persons in the workplace, forbids employment discrimination against

anyone 40 years of age or older in the US.

Prior to the passage of the ADEA, many

companies imposed mandatory retirement requirements on workers when they reached a

specific age, often pushing otherwise qualified and competent workers into years of

discouraging unemployment while their skills and self-image needlessly eroded.

N. Kohn, “The Lawyer's Role in Fostering an Elder Rights Movement”, William Mitchell Law Review,

37(1) (2010), 49, 51. Kohn also noted that the courts have rejected arguments that age-based classifications

violate rights to equal protection. See N. Kohn, “Rethinking the Constitutionality of Age Discrimination:

A Challenge to a Decades-Old Consensus”, U.C. Davis Law Review, 44 (2010), 213.

29 U.S.C. § 621 to 29 U.S.C. § 634. Initially, the ADEA solely protected individuals between 40 and 70;

however, in 1986 the upper age cap was removed. The ADEA was amended again in 1990 by the Older

Workers Benefit Protection Act to protect older workers from an involuntary or uninformed waiver of their

age discrimination protections under the ADEA. A Study of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of

1967, GP Solo (November/December 2014). For further discussion of the ADEA, see the chapter on the

ADEA in A. Gutterman, Older Persons’ Right to Work and Productive Resources (Oakland CA: Older

Persons’ Rights Project, 2022).

Commentators have acknowledged the passage of the ADEA while also being critical of both the scope

and the practical impact of that statute, noting that it was limited to larger employers and certain forms of

employment-based discrimination and exempted entire categories of workers. See N. Kohn, “The Lawyer's

Role in Fostering an Elder Rights Movement”, William Mitchell Law Review, 37(1) (2010), 49, 51 (citing

29 U.S.C. § 630(b) (2006) (defining “employer” to limit the requirements of the ADEA to employers with

twenty or more employees) and 29 U.S.C. § 623 (2006 & Supp. 2008) (excluding, among others, law

enforcement personnel, executives, and tenured academics)). Also of interest is L. McCann and C.

Older Persons’ Right to Work and Productive Resources

appears at the end of this Work.

There are also numerous international labor standards addressing discrimination in

relation to access to education and vocational training, access to employment and

particular occupations and the terms and conditions of employment. For example,

the 1998 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work calls on all

member States to promote and realize within their territories the right to be free from

discriminatory employment practices and references rights and obligations created in

earlier fundamental conventions such as the Discrimination (in Employment and

Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) (promoting the principle of equal pay for work

of equal value) and the Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) (promoting

equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation).

Companies have incorporated D&I initiatives into their efforts to fulfill the expectations of

various voluntary standards and instruments relating to corporate sustainability and social

responsibility. D&I is a core principle of several of the UN Sustainable Development

Goals including gender equality, decent work and economic growth and reduced

inequalities, and Goal 10 (reduced inequalities) explicitly calls for efforts to empower and

promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex,

disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status, ensure equal

opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome by eliminating discriminatory laws,

policies and practices. The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises include

provisions addressing a wide range of employment-related practices including prohibitions

on discrimination, occupational health and safety, fair standards of employment and

industrial relations and training to improve skill levels. Section 6.3.10 of the ISO 26000

Social Responsibility Guidance Standard is concerned with organizational commitment

to the ILO’s “fundamental principles and rights at work” discussed above.

Companies

committing to the UN Global Compact bind themselves to the elimination of

discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.

Embedding D&I in Operations and Organizational Culture

The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights require companies to embed

their commitment to fulfill their responsibilities to respect human rights into their

operations, decision making and organizational culture and make those values and norms

part of the company’s DNA and the guiding principles for the company’s employment

and other business relationships, the development and marketing of their products and

services and the activities in the communities in which they operate.

Changing the

Ventrell-Monsees, “Age Discrimination in Employment” in R. Hudson (Editor), The New Politics of Old

Age Policy (2d Edition) (2010), 356 (comparing protection from age discrimination in employment to

protection from other forms of employment discrimination).

International Labour Standards on Equality of opportunity and treatment.

Section 6.4.2.1 of ISO 26000 references various sources of fundamental principles relating to labor

practices and social responsibility including the ILO's 1944 Declaration of Philadelphia, the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

For further discussion of “embedding”, see A. Gutterman, Businesses and Human Rights of Older

Persons (Oakland CA: Older Persons’ Rights Project, 2022).

Older Persons’ Right to Work and Productive Resources

appears at the end of this Work.

organizational culture is a difficult and challenging process that requires patience and

attention to all phases of a worker’s journey through the company and the company’s

relationships with customers, suppliers and the members of the communities in which the

company operates. Some of the steps that need to be taken were suggested by guidance

on developing a corporate non-discrimination and equality policy provided by the

International Labour Organization

• Make a strong commitment from the top by signaling that senior management

assumes responsibility for equal employment issues and is committed to D&I, thus

sending a strong message to other managers, supervisors and workers

• Conduct an assessment to determine if discrimination is taking place within the

organization

• Set up an organizational policy establishing clear procedures on non-discrimination

and equal opportunities, and communicate it both internally and externally

• Provide training at all levels of the organization, particularly for those involved in

recruitment and selection, as well as supervisors and managers, to help raise

awareness and encourage people to act against discrimination

• Support ongoing sensitization campaigns to combat stereotypes

• Set measurable goals and specific time frames to achieve objectives

• Monitor and quantify progress to identify exactly what improvements have been

made

• Modify work organization and distribution of tasks as necessary to avoid negative

effects on the treatment and advancement of particular groups of workers including

measures to allow workers to balance work and family responsibilities

• Ensure equal opportunity for skills development including scheduling to allow

maximum participation

• Address complaints, handle appeals and provide recourse to employees in cases

where discrimination is identified

• Encourage efforts in the community to build a climate of equal access to

opportunities (e.g., adult education programs and support of health and childcare

services)

• Set up bipartite bodies involving workers’ freely chosen representatives to determine

priority areas and strategies, to identify and counter bias in the workplace and ensure

that all workers are committed to the organizational goals regarding non-

discrimination and D&I

In its guidance to its members on demonstrating a commitment to diversity and inclusion

the National Credit Union Association (“NCUA”) recommended the following

• Organizational leaders including the board of directors, senior officials and personnel

managing the daily operations (including supplier relationships) demonstrate their

Questions and Answers on Business, Discrimination and Equality, International Labour Organization.

National Credit Union Association Voluntary Credit Union Self-Assessment Checklist on Best Practices

for Demonstrating a Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion, OMB No. 313340193 (Expired 3/31/2019).

Older Persons’ Right to Work and Productive Resources

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commitment to promoting D&I in both employment and contracting and fostering an

organizational culture that embraces D&I

• Fair inclusion of minorities, women and other diverse and marginalized individuals

(e.g., disabled persons, veterans, millennials, older workers and

lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender individuals) in the workforce is promoted through

proactive expansion of the applicant pool to include diverse candidates, creation of a

culture that values the contribution of all employees and encouragement of a focus on

these objectives when evaluating the performance of executives and managers

• Supplier diversity policies and practices are developed and implemented to expand

outreach for contracting opportunities to minority- and women-owned businesses, as

well as businesses owned by members of other disadvantaged groups (e.g., elder

entrepreneurs), and provide those businesses with opportunities to bid on certain

contracts or procurement activities and otherwise inform them about how to do

business with the organization

• Transparency and communication of information relating to D&I efforts (e.g.,

organizational commitments and plans and related metrics for measuring

performance) is promoted through normal business methods including displaying

information on websites, in any appropriate promotional materials and in annual

reports to stakeholders

• Adequate time and resources are allocated to ongoing monitoring and evaluation of

performance under D&I policies and practices

D&I and Older Workers

Gender (33%), knowledge, skills and experience (32.4%) and ethnicity/nationality/race

(24.5%) were the most common dimensions addressed in the D&I strategies covered in

PwC’s 2015 survey.

However, PwC counseled that the concept of diversity should be

flexible and broad enough to take into account the need for “people who can think and

work in highly different ways: those who can imagine and those who can implement; all-

rounders and deep specialists; as well as those who can lead cross-functional, cross-

sector, cross-cultural initiatives.

In addition, diversity means finding and supporting

people “who are different across all dimensions–for example other physical

characteristics, life situations, experiences, perspectives and personalities”.

Among the

most popular strategies to “get a good mix of talent” were the following: equipping

employees with new skills through continuous learning or mobility programs, searching

for a much broader range of skills when hiring, using multiple channels (including online

platforms and social networks) to find talent and actively searching for talent in different

geographies, industries and/or demographic segments.

A marketplace without boundaries? Responding to disruption (PwC 18th Annual Global CEO Survey,

2015), 31.

Id. at 28.

Id. at 31.

Id.

Older Persons’ Right to Work and Productive Resources

appears at the end of this Work.

According to Gerhardt et al., by the end of the second decade of the 21st century five

generations (Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z) were

together in workplaces in the US and around the world for the first time; however,

conflict and tension between generations was “pointed” and widespread over a number of

issues (i.e., political activism, climate change, social media, technology, privacy, gender

identity etc.) and the anger and lack of trust was hurting businesses by “limiting

collaboration, sparking emotional conflict, and leading to higher employee turnover and

lower team performance”.

One would think that businesses would identify and

proactively address generational issues in their workplaces, but the PwC survey indicate

that only 8% of the organizations surveyed included age as part of their D&I strategies

and that even among those organizations the strategy selected is inadequate: “simply

encourage those of different generations to focus on their similarities or

… deny the reality of their differences altogether”.

Equally troubling was the finding

that disability was specifically addressed in D&I strategies by only 7.2% of the

organizations.

Martin and North argued that “[d]espite increased public and research

attention on diversity and inclusion efforts, a closer look suggests that not all forms of

diversity and inclusion have been considered equal”.

They reported that while data

from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released in 2019 showed that 21%

of discrimination claims were based on age (versus 32% for race and 30% for sex),

“organizational diversity initiatives focus far more frequently on race (49%), gender

(52%), and LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer; 42%) rather than age

(18%)”.

Martin and North also provided a few examples of companies and leaders that have

publicly acknowledged the need for more work on diversity and inclusion in the

workplace (and supported initiatives related thereto) while making statements that clearly

ignored, if not actively discriminated against, older individuals. For example, while

HubSpot’s 2019 Diversity Report confirms its aspirations to become “a more diverse

company”, its CEO is on record admitting that the company actively excludes older

individuals on the basis that “in the tech world, gray hair and experience are really

overrated”.

While Facebook has invested millions of dollars in increasing diversity, it’s

M. Gerhardt, J. Nachemson-Ekwall and B. Fogel, “Harnessing the Power of Age Diversity”, Harvard

Business Review (March 8, 2022) (noting also that a lack of awareness and understanding of age issues can

drive discrimination in hiring and promotion, leading to lawsuit risks).

Id. See also A marketplace without boundaries? Responding to disruption (PwC 18th Annual Global

CEO Survey, 2015), 31. See also D. Cravit, “Should DEI Include Age? Only 8% of Companies Include

‘Age’ as Part of Their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategy”, Everything Zoomer (April 4, 2022).

Id.

Id at 1.

Id. (citing Charge statistics (charges filed with EEOC) FY 1997 Through FY 2019. United States Equal

Employment Opportunity Commission (2019) and M. Akinola, et al., Diversity isn’t what it used to be: The

consequences of the broadening of diversity. (Working Paper: Columbia Business School, 2019)). The

authors also pointed out that such trends paralleled a lack of scholarly attention on ageism, compared with

racism and sexism (citing T. Nelson, “The age of ageism”, Journal of Social Issues, 72(1) (2016), 191 and

M. North and S. Fiske, “An inconvenienced youth? Ageism and its potential intergenerational roots”,

Psychological Bulletin, 138(5) (2012), 982).

HubSpot 2019 Diversity Report, 2 and A. Bryant, “Brian Halligan, chief of HubSpot, on the value of

naps”, The New York Times (December 5, 2013).

Older Persons’ Right to Work and Productive Resources

appears at the end of this Work.

hard to forget Mark Zuckerberg’s famous 2007 statement that “younger people are just

smarter”.

Vinod Khosla was one of the founders of Sun Microsystems, which has been

received multiple awards for diversity and inclusion; however, Khosla, who exercises a

wide range of influence over startups in his role as a leading venture capitalists, has said

that “people over 45 basically die in terms of new ideas”.

Consistent with the

statements above, Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX, said the following in an

interview that appeared in Business Insider in March 2022: “I don’t think we should try

to have people live for a really long time. That it would cause asphyxiation of society

because the truth is, most people don’t change their mind. They just die. So if they don’t

die, we will be stuck with old ideas and society wouldn’t advance.”

Gerhardt et al. bemoaned the way that businesses failed to effectively address the

situation in their multi-generational workplaces as “a missed opportunity”, arguing that

“[a]ge-diverse teams are valuable because they bring together people

with complementary abilities, skills, information, and networks” and that if they are

effectively managed “they can offer better decision-making, more-productive

collaboration, and improved overall performance—but only if members are willing to

share and learn from their differences”.

They said “[w]e have become so entrenched in

generational name-calling [“OK, Boomer,” “Gen X cynics,” “entitled Millennials,” and

“Gen Z snowflakes”]—or, conversely, so focused on downplaying the differences that do

exist—that we have forgotten there is strength in age diversity” and that “it’s incumbent

on leaders to embrace intergenerational teams as a key piece of the DEI puzzle and to

frame them as an opportunity to be seized rather than a threat to be managed.”

Egalitarian Advocacy and Ageism in the Workplace

R. Price, “Mark Zuckerberg: ‘I don’t think it’s a secret’ the tech sector has ‘an issue with diversity’”,

Business Insider (March 14, 2017) and M. Coker, Startup advice for entrepreneurs from Y combinator.

Venture Beat: Business (March 26, 2007).

S. Bride, Special report: Silicon valley’s dirty secret-age bias. Reuters (November 27, 2012).

M. Dopfner, “Elon Musk discusses the war in Ukraine and the importance of nuclear power—and why

Benjamin Franklin would be 'the most fun at dinner'”, Business Insider (March 26, 2022). Tesla has been

heavily criticized for its poor performance on diversity metrics, particularly at the executive and managerial

levels, and has been involved in a relatively high number of These concerns are particularly relevant to

Tesla. Employees who sought court trials but whose cases were held in arbitration have alleged

experiencing sexual harassment, discrimination, racism and violent threats. In California, over 140

discrimination complaints have been filed with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing. In New

York, at least 12 employees anonymously brought concerns to a Buffalo news station. See, e.g., Tesla’s

first ever diversity report shows white, male leadership (April 12, 2022).

M. Gerhardt, J. Nachemson-Ekwall and B. Fogel, “Harnessing the Power of Age Diversity”, Harvard

Business Review (March 8, 2022). (citing the example of a multigenerational team of product developers

that would likely thrive by merging the seasoned experience and broad client network of its older members

with the fresh perspectives and up-to-date supplier network of its younger ones, thus allowing the group to

build something no generation could on its own). See also Leveraging the Value of an Age-Diverse

Workforce (SHRM Foundation Executive Briefing) (quoting the following statement from the CEO of

AARP: “A workplace with Millennials, Gen Xers, Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation offers a unique

opportunity for varied perspectives and approaches to day-to-day work.”)

Id.

Older Persons’ Right to Work and Productive Resources

appears at the end of this Work.

The scope and implementation of D&I strategies and policies in the workplace is

impacted by several factors including the perspectives of the social egalitarians and

egalitarian advocates who typically champion D&I and are selected to take leadership

roles with respect to managing the resources allocated to D&I. Martin and North

described “social egalitarianism” as “an ideology which maintains that all humans are

equal in worth and which prioritizes equality for all people” and conceptualized

“egalitarian advocacy” as “an individual’s active orientation and motivation toward

supporting equal opportunity, justice, and treatment of social groups”.

Martin and

North reported that “those high in egalitarian advocacy actually engage in behaviors to

create equality, such as involvement and participation in organizations (e.g.,

volunteering), collective action (e.g., protests), and classes on egalitarian issues (e.g.,

gender studies)”.

Martin and North noted that past research had “assumed that social egalitarians reject

group-based hierarchies and advocate for equal treatment of all groups”.

However,

nine separate studies they conducted led them to conclude that “egalitarian advocacy

predicts greater likelihood to support ‘Succession’-based ageism, which prescribes that

older adults step aside to free up coveted opportunities (e.g., by retiring)”.

According to

the researchers, while older individuals face their own forms of discrimination, they are

perceived as “blocking younger people, and other unrepresented groups, from

opportunities”, thus leading to active discrimination against older adults among

egalitarian advocates.

Martin and North argued that their studies demonstrated that

A. Martin and M. North, “Equality for (almost) all: Egalitarian advocacy predicts lower endorsement of

sexism and racism, but not ageism”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (2021), 3 (citing R.

Arneson, Egalitarianism (The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2013).

Id. (citing A. Fischer et., “Assessing women’s feminist identity development: Studies of convergent,

discriminant, and structural validity”, Psychology of Women Quarterly, 24(1) (2000), 15; and M. Liss et

al., “Predictors and correlates of collective action”, Sex Roles, 50(11/12) (2004), 771). Martin and North

described “active egalitarianism” as including “actual behaviors aimed at increasing equality and inclusion,

such as social activism, participation in gender and race initiatives, interest in education around race and

gender issues, and political support”. Id. at 22 (citing A. Fischer et., “Assessing women’s feminist identity

development: Studies of convergent, discriminant, and structural validity”, Psychology of Women

Quarterly, 24(1) (2000), 15; and M. Liss et al., “Predictors and correlates of collective action”, Sex Roles,

50(11/12) (2004), 771)).

Id. at 1 and 3 (citing numerous studies showing that “[e]galitarianism predicts not only comparably low

levels of generalized prejudice, but also low levels of specific prejudices toward a number of groups, such

as poor people, Latinos, Asians, Blacks foreigners, gay people, women, Arabs, Muslims, immigrants, and

refugees” and noting that “[t]his has led many researchers to conclude that egalitarians endorse less

prejudice and show more support for all disadvantaged social groups (e.g., J. Sidanius and F. Pratto, Social

dominance: An intergroup theory of social hierarchy and oppression (Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press, 2001)”).

Id. at 1. For detailed discussion of Martin and North’s studies and arguments relating to egalitarian

advocacy and ageism, see A. Gutterman, Older Persons’ Rights Movement (Oakland CA: Older Persons’

Rights Project, 2022).

Id. One of the studies conducted by Martin and North confirmed that older individuals were perceived as

hoarding opportunities that could go to women and racial minorities, a belief that at least partially

contributed to the comparatively lower allocation of support to older individuals in diversity and inclusion

initiatives. Id. at 11. In fact, several of the studies provided support for identifying “opportunity blocking”

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“egalitarian advocates endorse less prejudice toward, and show more support for, women

and racial minorities, but harbor more prejudice toward, and show less advocacy for,

older individuals” and “perceived opportunity blocking [was] a critical mediator …

[causing] … egalitarian advocates [to] believe that older individuals actively obstruct

more deserving groups from receiving necessary resources and support to get ahead”.

Interestingly, age-based retirement expectations extended to individuals with multiple

disadvantaged identities (i.e., older women and older members of racial minority groups).

According to Martin and North “bias against older individuals is likely due to a belief

that older individuals have had their opportunities and, thus, are no longer in need of

them, and should actively make way for others to enjoy them”.

They conceded that

“older individuals have benefited in many ways from unprecedented economic prosperity

across their lifetime”, but also argued that “this belief is not necessarily justified”,

pointing to research showing that compared with the past, older individuals are

continuing to work until an older age because they cannot afford to retire for various

reasons including a lack of sufficient social security, recent economic recessions and the

increased need to support to their own, grown children, who also face economic

difficulties.

Data published by AARP in 2018 suggested that older individuals were

being challenged to sustain themselves for longer periods of time due to increased life

expectancies using savings that were at lower levels than ever before.

Prejudice among egalitarian advocates against older adults has significant consequences

for the focus and content of workplace D&I strategies and policies. For example, Martin

and North found that support for women and racial minorities was outpacing, and

sometimes hindering, support for older individuals and that fewer resources were being

as a critical factor in explaining while older individuals receive less support than women and racial

minorities among egalitarian advocates.

Id. at 1 and 21. Martin and North pointed out that “it is possible that older, White, privileged men are the

prototypical exemplar of the age category”; however, the reality is that “this group makes up the minority

of the older demographic” and “in fact, the majority of older individuals cannot afford to retire”. Id. at 4

(citing The Population 65 years and older in the United States: 2016. (United Census: American

Community Survey Reports, 2016) and The value of experience: AARP multicultural work & jobs study

chartbook for total respondents (AARP Research Report, 2018).

Id. at 22 (citing M. North and S. Fiske, “Act your (old) age: Prescriptive, ageist biases over succession,

consumption, and identity”, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 39(6) (2013), 720). Egalitarian

advocates surveyed by Martin and North affirmed their prejudices against older individuals when presented

with a narrative that emphasized that included the following statements: “Although those over 65 hold

more than one third of the United States wealth, have the highest savings of any generation, and are least

likely to be in poverty, for many, retirement is nowhere near the horizon. Although many listed financial

reasons three of the top five reasons older workers refuse to retire are because work provides enjoyment,

gives them meaning, and occupies their time. It is not uncommon for people to work into their 60s, 70s, or

80s these days, and many are actively engaged in their careers, certain to avoid retirement. For the

aforementioned reasons, nearly one in four American workers do not know if they will retire at all.” Id. at

26.

Id. (citing The value of experience: AARP multicultural work & jobs study chartbook for total

respondents (AARP Research Report, 2018) and Older Americans are increasingly unwilling—or unable—

to retire, National Public Radio (October 9, 2019)).

The value of experience: AARP multicultural work & jobs study chartbook for total respondents (AARP

Research Report, 2018).

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allocated to older individuals when compared to other discriminated groups. In many

cases, ageism was not a part of D&I discussions or, if it was, it was explicitly endorsed,

and the researchers concluded that “when it comes to egalitarianism, equality for all may

only mean equality for some” and “[t]his work highlights the increasing importance of

developing initiatives, strategies, and policies to foster inclusion for everyone”.

Martin and North were concerned that the lack of prioritization of older individuals in

diversity and inclusion efforts was based on the misleading belief that older people were

hoarding opportunities and set out to explore whether prejudice against older individuals

could be affected by reframing beliefs. In fact, two of the studies they conducted showed

that “when giving individuals information about the nature of retirement—that is, that

certain older individuals cannot afford to retire—their beliefs changed to be more

supportive of older individuals” and “when people were told that older people were

struggling [as well as women and racial minorities] it minimized their beliefs that older

people were hoarding resources”.

Several studies conducted by Martin and North

showed that changing people’s baseline beliefs about older individuals’ wealth increases

support for older individuals and that “those higher in egalitarian advocacy are especially

amenable to this intervention, such that egalitarian advocacy predicts a greater reduction

in bias when baseline views of older individuals are changed.

This is an important finding that should be incorporated into the efforts of advocates for

older persons’ rights in the form of widespread educational programs that would provide

society in general, and those egalitarian advocates who often have positions of significant

influence regarding the allocation of resources within D&I programs, with a clearer

picture of the economic challenges that they face along with their families and

communities. Focusing on those challenges should also cause members of younger

generations to consider steps that should be taken, individually and collectively, to

prepare for when they themselves will be older and at risk of marginalization.

Assessment of D&I Policies and Practices

One thing that companies need to do is continuously assess their D&I policies and

practices in order to get a better idea of where they stand and which issues and problems

should be prioritized for immediate action. There are several ways to organize the areas

of inquiry for the assessment; however, the process should surely touch on commitment

to D&I from organizational leadership, inclusivity in the workplace, diversity in the

A. Martin and M. North, “Equality for (almost) all: Egalitarian advocacy predicts lower endorsement of

sexism and racism, but not ageism”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (2021), 1.

Id. at 16. Martin and North found support for older individuals increased when participants in their

surveys were presented with information such as the following: “Recent data suggests that baby boomers

have less savings than ever before, with the median savings being just over $150,000, and as life-

expectancy increases, this amount needs to get through what could be a 30-year retirement. Further,

economic recessions have affected the stability of those savings; for example, in the least recession, 401(k)

accounts lost one third of their value, which forced many to continue working long beyond their original

plans.” Id. at 27.

Id. at 4.

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supply chain and transparency and communications (see box below for an example of a

checklist for assessment of diversity and inclusion policies and practices). The initial

assessment is obviously very important and foundational to the company’s entire D&I

initiative; however, assessments should not be “one off” activities and there must be an

organizational commitment to continuous monitoring and assessment on a regular basis,

no less frequently than annually.

_______________

Checklist for Assessment of Diversity and Inclusion Policies and Practices

The National Credit Union Administration (“NCUA”) prepared a voluntary self-assessment checklist for

credit unions to use in assessing their practices relating to diversity and inclusion in the workplace and in

contracting activities. The questions covered in the assessment tracked the NCUA’s standards for assessing

diversity policies and practices: organizational commitment to diversity and inclusion; promotion of fair

inclusion of minorities, women or other diverse individuals (e.g., disabled persons, veterans, millennials,

older workers or lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender individuals) in the workforce; development and

implementation of supplier diversity policies and practices; transparency and communications and

monitoring and assessment. The NCUA recommended that the assessment be carried out by the credit

union’s diversity or human resources office and noted that the development and implementation of

successful diversity policies and practices often occurs gradually, over a period of time, which means that

assessment and corresponding modifications to policies and practices must be a continuous process and

carried out no less frequently than annually. The NCUA assessment framework is useful beyond credit

unions and the questions below have been adapted from the NCUA framework for use by an organization:

Commitment of Organizational Leadership to Diversity and Inclusion

Does my organization:

1. Have a written diversity and inclusion policy approved by senior leadership, which includes the

board of directors and senior management?

2. Have a senior level official to oversee our diversity and inclusion strategies and initiatives with

knowledge of and experience in diversity and inclusion policies and practices?

3. Conduct training and provide educational opportunity on equal employment opportunities and

diversity at least annually?

4. Take proactive steps to include a diverse pool of women and minorities or other diverse individual

candidates for hiring, recruiting, retention, or promotion of your employees and selection of board member

candidates and senior management?

5. Include diversity and inclusion considerations in our strategic plan for recruiting, hiring, retention,

or promotion of our workforce?

6. Include diversity and inclusion considerations in our strategic plan in contracting with vendors?

7. Provide periodic (such as quarterly) progress reports on diversity and inclusion efforts to our

board of directors or senior management?

Promotion of Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace

Does my organization:

1. Implement policies and practices to ensure equal employment opportunities for employees and

applicants for employment?

2. Implement policies and practices that create or foster diverse applicant pools for employment

opportunities? These may include outreach to minority, women, or other diverse individuals; outreach to

educational institutions serving significant or predominately minority, women, or other diverse student

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populations and participation in conferences, workshops, and other events that attract minorities, women, or

other diverse individuals to inform them of employment and promotion opportunities.

3. Communicate employment opportunities through media reaching diverse populations, including

publications or professional organizations and educational institutions predominantly serving minority,

women or other diverse populations?

4. Cultivate relationships with professional organizations or educational institutions that primarily

serve minority, women, or other diverse individuals or organizations?

5. Evaluate our diversity and inclusion programs regularly, and identify areas for future

improvement?

6. Use analytical tools, including quantitative (e.g., Employer Information Report EEO-1) and

qualitative data, to assess, measure, and track our workforce diversity at all levels, including supervisory

and executive ranks, by race, ethnicity, gender or other diverse categories; and the inclusiveness of our

employment practices for hiring, promotion, career development, internships, or retention, by ethnicity,

gender, or other diverse categories?

7. Hold management accountable for diversity and inclusion efforts, such as ensuring these efforts

align with business strategies or individual performance plans?

Supplier Diversity

Does my organization:

1. Have a written supplier diversity policy that provides opportunities for minority and women-

owned businesses to bid to deliver business goods and services to us?

2. Have leadership support to incorporate supplier diversity into business planning cycles or

initiatives?

3. Encourage by policy that some percentage (e.g., 33%) of our outside contracts solicit bids from

qualified minority- and women-owned businesses?

4. Reach out specifically to inform minority- and women-owned businesses or affinity groups

representing these constituencies of contracting opportunities and how to do business with us?

5. Use metrics to identify the baseline of and track:

• the amount we spend procuring and contracting for goods and services?

• the availability of relevant minority- and women-owned businesses?

• the amount we spend with minority- and women-owned businesses?

• the percentage of contract dollars awarded to minority- and women-owned businesses by races,

ethnicity, and gender as compared to total contract dollars awarded for calendar year?

• the changes related to the above items over time?

6. Implement practices that promote a diverse supplier pool, which may include:

• Participation in conferences, workshops, and other events that attract minority- and women-owned

businesses to inform them of our contracting opportunities?

• Maintain a listing of qualified minority- and women-owned businesses that may bid on upcoming

contracting opportunities?

• Have an ongoing process to publicize our contracting opportunities?

7. Encourage prime contractors to use minority- and women-owned subcontractors by incorporating

this objective in their business contracts?

8. Continuously consider expanding its supplier diversity outreach and practices to include

businesses other than minority- and women-owned businesses that are owned by persons who are members

of other disadvantaged groups?

Transparency

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Does my organization:

1. Periodically compile information about our efforts to enhance diversity and inclusion suitable for

publication, which may include:

• Demographic information on workforce composition (such as that found on an annual EEOC report)?

• Demographic information on supplier diversity (contracting activities)?

• Demographic information on the board members and other officials?

• Information on sponsorships or partnerships with diverse organizations?

• Other information on our diversity and inclusion efforts?

2. Make the following information public:

• Our diversity and inclusion strategic plan?

• Our policy on the organization’s commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workforce?

• Our policy on the organization’s commitment to diversity and inclusion to supplier diversity?

• Our efforts and progress toward achieving diversity and inclusion in our workforce and contracting

activities?

3. Publicize opportunities that promote diversity and inclusion, which may include employment and

internship opportunities, contracting opportunities, mentorship or developmental programs for employees

and/or developmental programs for potential contractors?

Continuous Monitoring and Assessment

Does my organization:

1. Conduct self-assessments of our diversity policies and practices annually based on standards that

have been adopted and implemented by organizational leaders?

2. Modify our diversity policies and practices based on the results of the self-assessment or

evaluation of our diversity policies and practices?

3. Publish information pertaining to the self-assessment or evaluation of our diversity policies and

practices annually?

4. Publish information pertaining to our efforts with respect to our diversity standards?

Source: National Credit Union Association Voluntary Credit Union Self-Assessment Checklist on Best

Practices for Demonstrating a Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion, OMB No. 313340193 (Expired

3/31/2019).

_______________

Understanding Workforce Diversity

Companies should continuously take stock of where they stand in terms of diversity

among the members of the workforce. To determine where to prioritize the steps

necessary to improve fairness and equality throughout the organization, companies need

to collect data relating to recruiting, promotions, salaries and other issues that can be used

to identify situations in which the company’s practices may be biased. Surprisingly,

many companies do not track the necessary data, which means that their leaders may not

understand that problems exist with respect to workplace diversity or gender and racial

gaps in pay. This is not a simple process at the very beginning because it will require

going back in time to assess many employment-related decisions including decisions

made by persons who are no longer with the company. As the data is collected steps

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should be taken to create a permanent system so that performance can easily be tracked

and measured in the future.

At the same time the information described above is being collected the company should

analyze the skill sets of the current group of employees and the skills and experience that

the company would ideally like to have throughout its workforce. This is important

because the drive toward greater diversity must be aligned with the business needs of the

company. Companies cannot sustain their drive toward D&I unless they either focus

their recruiting efforts on underrepresented groups that have the skills and experience that

the company requires or commit to providing members of those groups (and everyone

else in the company) with the training and other support necessary for them to be

successful in their professional development with the company. The company should

also work to have a better understanding of the relationship between its customer base

and the diversity of its workforce. It is important to have a diverse workforce that

mirrors the customer base, which means ensuring that core business units such as product

development, marketing, sales and customer service include employees who can raise

concerns about discriminatory, exclusionary or insensitive actions in their areas and in

the company’s training and external messaging (e.g., advertisements that are ageist, racist

or culturally inappropriate). In addition, increasing diversity in the workforce allows the

company to credibly pursue new business opportunities that advance age equity by

recognizing and serving the specific needs of markets of older consumers and avoid

products or services that are discriminatory or exclusionary towards older persons.

D&I Planning

Achieving and maintaining D&I in the organization is a challenging project and requires

a plan that can be used to guide the company through the necessary steps and establish

milestones that can be referred to assess whether the measures taken have had the desired

and expected impact. A D&I plan should begin with a statement of the company’s

mission, namely growing a diverse workforce in an inclusive work environment, and an

affirmation of the company’s commitment to the fundamental values of D&I. The plan

should then set out specific strategic goals with respect to D&I, such as assembling a

workforce that reflects all segments of society, establishing an inclusive and engaged

organizational culture, promoting diversity in the company’s supply chain and

participating as a contributor and advocate in community-based efforts to promote social

justice, equality and economic wellbeing. Each goal should have several specific

objectives (e.g., with respect to achieving diversity in the workforce, one of the

objectives should be eliminating institutional barriers to equal employment opportunities)

and strategies for achieving each objective. Finally, the plan should incorporate metrics

that can be referenced to track performance for each of the objectives and the company’s

overall progress toward achieving its goals relating to diversity and inclusion. For the

plan to be relevant and effective it needs to be based on solid information collected and

analyzed in advance relating to the company’s current D&I profile and the specific

concerns of the company’s employees, customers and other stakeholders. The company

should prioritize its goals and objectives giving greater weight to initiatives that address

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the most immediate problems and/or are likely to have the strongest immediate positive

impact on improving D&I.

The D&I plan is obviously an important internal roadmap for the company; however, the

company should also commit to transparency in disclosing its D&I strategies and results to

stakeholders as part of the company’s overall reporting on social responsibility issues.

News reports indicate that only 40% of larger companies are transparent about the gender

and racial makeup of their employees and CEOs often balk at setting and announcing

measurable targets relating to diversity in their workforces. Given the pressures for

change, this lack of clarity cannot continue, and companies must be prepared to provide

data relating to recruiting, promotion, wages and other issues as to which bias is likely to

arise and commit to measurement and reporting on meaningful indicators of D&I.

Reporting must be continuous and regular so that stakeholders can measure and assess

progress or backsliding and should include commentary that goes “beyond the numbers”

so that stakeholders have a better understanding of the actions that the company has taken

and the reasons for their success or failure. The NCUA argued that transparency

regarding an organization’s D&I initiatives including commitments and plans and related

metrics for measuring performance sends an important signal to a broad constituency of

current and potential employees, customers, suppliers and the communities in which the

organization operates.

Companies need to be bold and fearless about reporting in this

area and accept that mistakes may be made and that stakeholders will likely be forgiving

within reasons as long as companies move quickly to address problems and grievances.

D&I Policies

A fundamental element of company’s efforts to embed D&I is an anti-discrimination

policy that makes it clear that the company will have “zero tolerance” for all forms of

discrimination, including ageism, and commits the company to take swift action to

discipline workers who engage in actions that discriminate against co-workers, customers

and community members on the basis of membership in any class recognized and

protected by law and broader international human rights standards (i.e., color, religion,

disability, national origin, genetic information, sex (including pregnancy), age, sexual

orientation, gender (including gender identity and expression), marital status, protected

veterans status and citizenship status). The policy should also refer to the scope of

employment-related actions and activities that are covered by the protections guaranteed

in the policy, such as recruitment, hiring, compensation, promotions, transfers, discipline,

demotions, terminations, layoffs, access to benefits and training and all other aspects of

employment, as well as to selection of volunteers and vendors and provision of services.

National Credit Union Association Voluntary Credit Union Self-Assessment Checklist on Best Practices

for Demonstrating a Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion, OMB No. 313340193 (Expired 3/31/2019).

Emerging sustainability reporting frameworks, such as the Global Reporting Initiative, include various

metrics that relate to aspects of diversity, equality and inclusion such as the implementation of policies and

programs promoting equal opportunities; the ratio of basic salary and remuneration of women to men by

employee category, by significant locations of operation; significant indirect economic impacts, including

the extent of impacts; and the ratio of basic salary and remuneration of women to men by employee

category, by significant locations of operation.

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The policy should include the company’s affirmation of its commitments to providing an

inclusive and welcoming environment for all employees, customers, volunteers,

subcontractors and vendors and the expectation that every employee will show respect for

all the company’s colleagues, customers, volunteers, subcontractors and vendors. Special

reference should be made to prohibitions on harassment that is based on any status

protected by law or the company’s policies. Anti-discrimination policies should provide

employees and others with instructions on how to contact the company to make

suggestions and report violations of the policy and should provide assurances to reporting

persons that they will not be subject to retaliation. The consequences of violating the

policy, including disciplinary actions up to and including termination, should also be

explained in the policy.

The development and publication of the anti-discrimination policy should also be used as

an opportunity for the company to make a public affirmation of its commitments and

actions relating to D&I. For example, the policy should include a commitment to

creating an equitable workplace where diverse life experiences are respected and valued

and an affirmation by the company that D&I are paramount to its mission. Companies

may incorporate a list of the actions that have been taken to both promote D&I and

ensure equal opportunities to all employees. The list should obviously reflect the specific

actions taken by the company, but might include, without limitation, the following:

• Modified company facilities for people with mobility challenges

• Guaranteed generous parental leave policy for new parents of adoptive and biological

children

• All employees permitted to submit requests for additional days of leave due to

religious holidays

• Compulsory sensitivity training for all senior employees and managers

• Attendance to any holiday events is voluntary and nondenominational

• On site/emergency childcare is available to those who need it

• Regular employee surveys gather consensus on attitudes around D&I

• Formal leadership training to mitigate biases and increase cultural competency

• Informal discussion sessions and support groups to discuss bias and equity issues

• Collecting resources for educating employees about issues relating to D&I

• Flexible-work programs for individual mitigating cases including health problems,

family and religious commitments

• Blind screening of résumés and diverse interview panels for job candidates

• Recruitment outreach initiatives for more diverse talent pools

• Gender-neutral restrooms and non-binary gender choices on surveys

Many of the actions will have their own policies and procedures which can be referenced

in the anti-discrimination policy (e.g., leave policies, flexible work programs and training

on bias and equity issues). Consideration should also be given to including a specific

commitment to age equity and justice and embedding an age equity lens into the

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company’s leadership and staff structure, advocacy and community engagement activities

and organizational policies and communications.

The policy should be specifically reviewed and approved by the board of directors and

should be widely disseminated including in the company’s employee handbook and code

of conduct. In addition, the policy should be incorporated into job announcements,

posted on the company’s website and included in all of the company’s career and

diversity-related materials. To emphasize the importance that the company places on

preventing age-based discrimination and harassment, each employee should be required

to deliver a written acknowledgement that he or she has received, read and understood

the policy and had an opportunity to ask questions and provides comments relating to the

policy. New employees should be required to do the same thing before their employment

with the company begins and the acknowledgement should be delivered in person so that

a representative of the company is able to directly ask the candidate if he or she

understands the policy. When presenting the policy to employees, the company needs to

be prepared to explain how situations involving ageism will be handled and encourage

open communication regarding age equity in the workplace. Employees need to feel

comfortable about reporting ageism (including incidents that they see happening to

someone else) and processes need to be implemented to facilitate anonymous reporting so

that employees do not remain silent due to fear of retaliation.

Organization of D&I Activities

Iyer and Kirschenbaum noted that the D&I efforts of companies are often carried out

separately from the business units that are primarily responsible for market expansion,

the quality of customer service or human resources. They encouraged companies to

implement organizational structures and expectations of accountability that embedded

D&I into operations such as forming a permanent D&I working group or team with

relevant experience and expertise drawn from throughout the company (e.g., engineers,

data scientists, researchers, designers etc.) to focus exclusively on advancing inclusion

and rooting out bias in key activities such as product design, marketing and customer

service. Similarly, older workers from all parts of the company, including hourly

employees, women and people of color, need to be given a voice in the creation,

implementation and assessment of all employment-related processes. The working group

created to develop the company’s commitments to action regarding age equity and respect

for the civil and human rights of older persons should also be involved in organizational

change initiatives.

Ideas about the composition of the D&I working group and the manner in which it carries

out its responsibilities can be gleaned from suggestions made by Lee on forming a staff-

led taskforce, working or committee on D&I.

The first suggestion related to the

L. Iyer and J. Kirschenbaum, How Companies Can Advance Racial Equity and Create Business Growth

(April 8, 2019).

Y. Lee, “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace | Tips for Starting a DEI Committee”, Idealist

(July 18, 2019)

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composition of the group and the need to ensure that it includes a diverse team of

employees so that discussions and actions will take into account the wide range of

viewpoints throughout the workplace. Passion for D&I is certainly an important

qualification for serving on the group and anyone who can bring that type of energy to

the issues should be considered; however, an effort must be made to identify under-

represented groups and not only bring them on to the team but also consider the reasons

why employees might be reluctant to participate. In addition to making sure that the

composition of the group is racially and ethnically diverse, there should be representation

from all levels in the organizational hierarchy and from each of the key business groups

or departments.

Another suggestion from Lee was establishing clear goals, roles and relationships in

order to define the group’s scope of work and how it operates internally and relates to

leaders of the organization and other groups that have the authority to implement the

actions recommended by the group. In general, members of the working group will still

be expected to work on their preexisting day-to-day responsibilities so they will have

limited time to invest in the group’s activities. As such, consensus should be reached on

which D&I issues are most pressing for the company. This process should begin with

sharing of stories and experiences among the members of the group, but the group should

also go outside its own boundaries to seek input from other employees. Once the issues

have been identified, the group needs to consider its internal and external capacities to do

the work necessary to make an impact on each issue (e.g., are there members of the group

with specific experience and skills that can be leveraged to develop effective solutions for

an issue) and make decisions about which of the issues the group can have the most

influence on.

The working group also needs to establish boundaries as part of the process of identifying

the issues that it will concentrate on and developing proposed solutions for those issues.

The working group will typically not have the authority or the control over specific

resources to implement that solutions that it might recommend and there needs to be

clarity on just what is expected from the working group and what actions will need to be

taken by the leaders of the organization (e.g., directors and members of the executive

team) and other departments or business units that are specifically responsible for the

policies, processes and actions relating to a particular issue. For example, it is likely that

the working group will be grappling with issues relating to improving diversity in the

company’s recruiting pipeline and the work on that issue needs to be coordinated with the

human resources department, which needs to be supportive of the participation by the

working group and willing to provide the working group with the data necessary for the

group to understand the company’s current diversity profile. Provision should also be

made for the working group to receive technical assistance from other parts of the

company to carry out its activities, such as assistance in creating and disseminating

surveys to collect information and setting up meetings with employees outside of the

group to hear their concerns and suggestions.

Lee’s suggestions were focused on what would initially be a largely volunteer effort

organized and supported by the company that depended on employees willing to commit

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time to the working group in addition to what they might already be doing for the

company. In contrast, Iyer and Kirschenbaum called for companies to form a permanent

full-time D&I working group or team, meaning that members would be pulled off of their

previous assignments and be required and allowed to spend all of their time working on

D&I issues with experienced colleagues from other parts of the company.

The decision

depends on a variety of factors, notably the size of the company and the ability of the

company to reallocate resources to a full-time group. It might be best to start with a

voluntary group, properly staffed and operating with the explicit and public support of the

company’s leaders, and then determine how best to integrate the D&I working group into

the company’s permanent organizational structure. While having a full-time team

working on D&I issues is useful, care must be taken to ensure that the team continues to

work well with the relevant departments and business units and that steps are taken to

embed D&I directly into those groups.

Recruiting

Companies can do several things to expand diversity in the recruitment pool including

focusing on local communities and dramatically expanding the size of internship

programs and committing to setting aside a significant portion of the slots to

underrepresented groups and providing them with mentors and support and a clear path to

full-time employment in jobs that come with real development and progression

opportunities. Companies should also democratize the recruitment process by eliminating

questions on employment applications and testing that disproportionately exclude

applicants from underrepresented groups and eliminating college degree requirements for

jobs that do not actually require higher education. The initial goal of these changes is to

bring more members of underrepresented groups into the workplace; however, the jobs in

question are typically entry level and thus not necessarily optimal from a long-term

perspective and it is therefore important to be sure that these jobs come with a living wage

and are accompanied by eligibility for other skills development and educational programs

sponsored by the company.

Practices for Creating an Age-Diverse Workplace

Research conducted by the AARP Public Policy Institute among companies seeking to

integrate better D&I practices for an age-diverse workforce identified the following

practices that have promise for “boosting age diversity and enhancing intergenerational

understanding” and nurturing the talents of employees of all ages

• Open apprenticeships to workers of all ages

• Start a program to assist workers re-entering the workforce after a long absence

• Facilitate cross-generational mentoring to improve knowledge transfer

L. Iyer and J. Kirschenbaum, How Companies Can Advance Racial Equity and Create Business Growth

(April 8, 2019), https://www.fsg.org/blog/how-companies-can-advance-racial-equity-and-create-business-

growth

Leveraging the Value of an Age-Diverse Workforce (SHRM Foundation Executive Briefing), 2.

Older Persons’ Right to Work and Productive Resources

appears at the end of this Work.

• Raise awareness of intergenerational differences to enhance team functioning

• Organize employee resource groups (e.g., problem-solving or leadership-development

groups) that increase workers’ engagement and provide mentoring opportunities

• Actively recruit talent across all ages to build a diverse, experienced workforce

• Hold managers accountable for implementing CEO-approved D&I strategies

throughout all levels of the organization

Gerhardt et al. claimed that the evidence shows “that when time-tested [D&I] tools are

used to bridge age divides, they can reduce conflict and generational stereotypes and

improve organizational commitment, job satisfaction, employee turnover, and

organizational performance”.

In their 2021 book, Gentelligence, they laid out a

framework “for moving colleagues away from generational conflict and toward a

productive embrace of one another’s differences” that was based on adapting four core

best practices

• Identify the stereotypical assumptions that are being made about members of

generational groups (including assumptions that members of a group might be

making about themselves) and understand how they may be impeding recognizing

and understanding “teammates’ true selves as well as the skills, information, and

connections they have to offer”.

• Adjust the lens of each of the members of the organization so that they begin to

consider whether they have been judging someone’s actions and attitudes based only

on their frame of reference and not considering why colleagues from different

generational groups might behave differently with respect to a particular situation.

• Identify and leverage productive differences among members of different

generations to take advantage of the diversity of available perspectives, knowledge

and networks.

• Embrace mutual learning by first working to ensure that all members of

intergenerational teams can learn from their colleagues in different age cohorts and

then establishing practices for mutual learning and mentoring for peers from all age

groups to comfortably teach and learn from one another in a continuous loop.

Gerhardt et al. suggested exercises that organizations could use to promote the above-

referenced practices.

For example, assumption audits require that organizational

members make a conscious effort to be on alert for age-based assumptions that they see

being used in day-to-day work activities and then the entire group will meet regularly to

discuss what they’ve seen and begin to build awareness of why age-based assumptions

exist and why members of other generations act differently to a particular situation. To

M. Gerhardt, J. Nachemson-Ekwall and B. Fogel, “Harnessing the Power of Age Diversity”, Harvard

Business Review (March 8, 2022).

M. Gerhardt, J. Nachemson-Ekwall and B. Fogel, Gentelligence: The Revolutionary Approach to

Leading an Intergenerational Workforce (Lanham Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2021). The

summary of the four practices (included quotations) is adapted from the description provided by the authors

in M. Gerhardt, J. Nachemson-Ekwall and B. Fogel, “Harnessing the Power of Age Diversity”, Harvard

Business Review (March 8, 2022).

Id. Examples of how each of the exercises might be applied are provided in the article.

Older Persons’ Right to Work and Productive Resources

appears at the end of this Work.

“adjust the lens”, Gerhardt et al. recommended use of the “describe-interpret-evaluate”

exercise: have each member describe a frustration they have with a member of a different

generation; have them describe their initial interpretation of the person’s behavior; and

have them identify a feasible alternative evaluation of the initial interpretation.

Contributions from the other members of the group, including members of different

generations, should also be solicited as a foundation for a general discussion so that

everyone has a better idea of why members of different generations respond differently to

a particular situation. Identifying and leveraging productive differences can be facilitated

through intergenerational roundtables, which are regularly scheduled monthly or

quarterly meetings called for the specific purpose of finding common ground and

similarities, introducing and vetting unique viewpoints and setting goals about how to

improve the functioning of intergenerational teams. Finally, mutual learning can be

facilitated by forming and supporting an informal mutual mentoring network that is based

on incorporating exactly what members of all ages are interested in learning and teaching.

Incorporating age into D&I strategies must also overcome stereotypical assumptions

regarding the skills and willingness to learn of older workers. For example, the CEOs

participating in the 2015 Annual Global CEO Survey told PwC that they were looking for

a “much broader range of skills than in the past” when searching for new talent and that

technological skills, particularly in relation to integrating digital technologies throughout

their enterprises to get the most out of their substantial digital investments, were

especially important.

Digital dexterity is generally seen as being the exclusive province

of younger generations. In fact, the CEO Survey quoted one CEO who was focused on

what the CEO called “Generation T” and declared that businesses must “think differently

about how we serve the young talent [and] what type of opportunities, networking and

type of culture you need to develop as a company.”

All this is certainly true as it applies to “young talent”; however, older workers,

especially those who have spent decades developing and implementing a succession of

the innovative technologies that have brought us to where we are today, have a role to

play and should not be ignored simply because of their age. The unconscious bias against

older workers that paints them as unable or unwilling to learn and deploy new

technologies must be explicitly acknowledged and addressed in D&I strategies and in the

practices related to those strategies including training and management of

intergenerational teams.

It is true that the digital skills of older Americans in general

lag those of younger Americans and there are also gaps in such skills between older

Americans from historically oppressed groups (i.e., people of color and women) and

A marketplace without boundaries? Responding to disruption (PwC 18th Annual Global CEO Survey,

2015), 29.

Id.

Id. at 32. Noting that, in general, “[new] employees who don’t fit stereotypical characteristics for

particular roles often struggle to succeed in the workplace”, reinforcing the need for careful processes for

integrating new employees so that the organization can realize the benefits of the differences that they bring

to the conversation or project.

Older Persons’ Right to Work and Productive Resources

appears at the end of this Work.

older White workers.

However, there is evidence that older workers can significantly

improve their digital skills with proper training and support and providing them with such

a foundation allows employers to access numeracy and literacy skills that are, on average,

higher than among younger Americans, thus creating multigenerational teams with a

broader overall set of skills. Moreover, including technology-savvy older workers on

product development teams provides companies with insights on how to design and

market products for older consumers with significant purchasing power.

Training

The effectiveness of the company’s policies and procedures relating to D&I and age

equity depends on its commitment to providing rigorous training to help all employees

understand the underlying causes of the problems, how age discrimination occurs in the

workplace and what steps must be taken to change values, norms and behaviors.

Training must be required for and provided to everyone in the organization ranging from

directors and members of the executive team to hourly workers. Companies also need to

develop function-specific training for key target groups including procurement

employees, sales and export staff, human resources, security staff, and all supervisors and

managers. In addition to specific age equity training, companies should also examine all

their leadership, management and professional development training and activities and

make appropriate modifications to ensure that they incorporate the overriding concepts of

diversity and inclusion. A range of training tools can be used, including classroom

sessions, workshops, e-learning systems, and “on the job” training at the locations where

a specific human rights impact is likely to be occurring. Customized handbooks with

guidelines and illustrations can be created and distributed to supervisors and managers.

When developing the training curriculum, input should be sought from employees,

stakeholders in local communities, and outside experts including NGOs.

Age equity in the workplace cannot be achieved unless and until everyone in the

organization appreciates and respects the diverse experiences of their colleagues and

understands that diversity and inclusion will lead to a stronger organizational culture, a

vibrant working environment and an engine for innovative products and services that will

support a sustainable enterprise. Age discrimination in the workplace is an extremely

sensitive issue that requires painful personal introspection and difficult conversations;

however, business leaders need to understand that ageism can and will damage their

companies in several ways. Age discrimination will certainly expose the company to

potential legal liabilities, but even more corrosive is how ageism can divide the

workforce and undermine morale, teamwork and productivity. In addition, in a world in

which news spreads quickly over social media, incidents of discrimination can quickly

I. Hecker, S. Spaulding and D. Kuehn, Digital Skills and Older Workers: Supporting Success in Training

and Employment in a Digital World, Urban Institute (September 2021).

A Guide for Integrating Human Rights into Business Management (Business Leaders Initiative on

Human Rights, United Global Compact and Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2004),

31-32. Resources for human rights training for businesses are available from a variety of institutions such

as the Institute for Human Rights and Business.

Older Persons’ Right to Work and Productive Resources

appears at the end of this Work.

and permanently tarnish a company’s reputation and brand, causing it to lose customers

and making it more difficult for the company to recruit, engage and retain diverse talent.

Age equity training involves tackling sensitive issues such as internalized ageist

stereotypes and “unconscious bias” that may affect decisions that are made within

organizations and how people communicate with one another in the workplace. Training

sessions should be set up in ways that promote open and safe discussions about ageism

and research indicates that companies that are willing and able to facilitate dialogue have

been able to build stronger bonds and greater understanding. It should be expected that

younger people who are challenged on their age-related beliefs during the training

sessions will act defensively, often expressing emotions such as fear, anger and guilt.

Younger employees may also have concerns about how proposed diversity and

inclusivity actions might undermine the opportunities and access to resources they have

been accustomed to. Concerns from all sides need to be aired, but debating should be

avoided, and all employees, regardless of age, need to clearly understand what is at stake

and what their lives in the workplace will be like once changes have been implemented.

This is the point at which all employees need to be educated and reassured about the

benefits to everyone in the company from setting aside inequitable practices.

Training should be accompanied and supported by the internal research and assessment

procedures mentioned elsewhere to identify the areas of possible bias that are specific to

the company and using that information to develop potential solutions that can be

incorporate into the training and related policies and procedures and metrics that can be

tracked over time to assess whether the training has been effective. When conducting the

research, the company should search for implicit biases in hiring practices, performance

evaluations, work assignments, promotions and compensation decisions. Solutions might

include revising job qualifications and descriptions, using software to screen applicants

and reconsidering the criteria used to evaluate job performance. Training sessions should

also include discussions around specific scenarios in which age might be an issue with

the goal of reaching a consensus on objective criteria that can be used for making

decisions rather than leaving outcomes to personal judgment that might be based on

unconscious bias.

Age equity training alone will not guarantee success, but it is an essential tool for

establishing and continuing dialogue. Certain elements of the training need to be

mandatory to demonstrate that the company has taken steps to ensure that all employees

are aware of their duties under the law and the company’s own internal policies and

codes of conduct. According to guidance from the Society for Human Resource

Management (“SHRM”), companies should offer additional training and opportunities for

dialog beyond the mandatory sessions and not compel attendance since people who do

not want to be there will often undermine the value of the meetings by acting hostile or

reacting defensively. Training sessions should be led by experienced facilitators and

should begin with an explanation of the ground rules for discussions so that everyone

feels comfortable sharing their experiences and opinions. SHRM encouraged companies

to make learning interactive and experiential, avoiding long lectures from someone in the

Older Persons’ Right to Work and Productive Resources

appears at the end of this Work.

front of the room at a podium, and to make sure that everyone walks out of the room with

practical steps that can be immediately used to overcome unconscious biases.

Conclusion

Recruiting and retaining older workers should be part of a broader initiative to increase

diversity throughout the organization. The chances for success in a diverse world are

enhanced when a company can call on the experiences and viewpoints of different races,

religious backgrounds, genders, nationalities and physical abilities. A diverse workforce

is a fertile ground for innovation and new ideas and can lead to the company being

recognized in the marketplace and communities as a credible champion of diversity and

economic equality. Achieving diversity will require attention to several types of

strategies and tactics. For example, companies will usually need to expand the

geographic scope of their recruiting activities to reach groups that may be

underrepresented in the current workforce. Changing and maintaining the organizational

culture of the company is also essential so that workers from “different” backgrounds feel

welcome and accepted once they join the company. This will require that companies

provide diversity training and opportunities for workers from different backgrounds to

work together. Companies need to focus on retention to ensure that their diversity

initiatives do not stagnate, which means taking special care to regularly engage with

women, people of color, workers with disabilities and older workers to identify and

understand potential problems before people decide to leave the company. Also

important is seeking and achieving diversity among the holders of senior positions in the

company, which not only expands the lens used for strategic decisions but also provides

workers at lower levels with role models within the company and a sense that the

company is open to supporting their professional development goals through promotions.

_______________

Ideas for Promoting Workplace Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Recruiting Strategies for Equality and Diversity

• Create a company equality, diversity and inclusion (“EDI”) policy and explicitly integrate EDI into the

company’s mission statement and external communications

• Expand the scope and diversity of the company’s recruiting efforts and promote the company’s

commitment to EDI to potential candidates

• Initiate equal pay policies across the organization and make sure they are always applied in the

interview process and when job changes/promotions occur (i.e., no negotiations or exceptions)

• Make initial candidate screening a blind screening and have a structured interview process that

includes a diverse group of employees

• Ensure that onboarding, initial training and the first months on the job are smooth for all new hires

• Develop and implement specific hiring practices for veterans and to avoid ageism

• Provide socioeconomic assistance to supplement salaries to assist employees with achieving a viable

standard of living (e.g., affordable housing option and employee cafeterias)

Workplace Strategies to Improve Morale and Inclusivity

A. Hirsch, “Taking Steps to Eliminate Racism in the Workplace”, Society for Human Resource

Management (October 22, 2018)

Older Persons’ Right to Work and Productive Resources

appears at the end of this Work.

• Publish signage and notification of EDI policies and keep company language gender-neutral

• Have open lines of communication where EDI issues can be discussed and improved upon

• Provide sensitivity and unconscious bias training and training on team building and communications

styles

• Support the creation of affinity groups within the company and encourage management involvement

with those groups

• Allow groups, or the company, to do community outreach and encourage management involvement

with outreach activities

• Initiate corporate-wide culture change for diversity and inclusion

• Ensure diversity among participants in all company committees and working groups and inclusivity in

the processes of the processes of such committees and working groups

• Bring in third parties to observe interactions in the workplace and solicit input from external

stakeholders (e.g., customers and community members)

• Instill a PTO day for voting

• Proactively make reasonable allowances for religious practices in the workplace

• Hand out health and wellness reimbursements and offer tuition reimbursement and support for

continued education

• Offer flexible PTO and reasonable opportunities for remote working and telecommuting

• Provide subsidized child care or on-site daycare for parents or those with guardianship of children and

offer wide ranging healthcare options to cover those with domestic partners or who have the care of

elder relatives

• Facilitate employee mentorship programs

• Have a formal and transparent process for moving up in the company and provide career development

for employees with varied backgrounds

• Have regular company meetings to keep everyone informed and up-to-date on happenings, and get a

pulse of the company

• Offer flexible parental leave for new parents

• Offer mental health resources

Source: Adapted from 55+ Ideas to Promote Inclusion and Workplace Diversity in 2020 (February 28,

2019).

_______________

PwC suggested that CEOs needed to carefully consider and address the following

questions with respect to creating and maintaining their D&I strategies

• How are you getting the visibility that you need to ensure that skills are being

deployed effectively in your organization? D&I strategies must include mechanisms

for monitor progress with respect to recruitment, integration and the progress of

diversified (intergenerational) teams.

• Are you measuring how D&I contributes to your bottom line and assessing its impact

on the capabilities you have or need to develop? Anecdotal evidence regarding

“wins” from D&I are fine and make for good communications content; however, the

case for hiring older workers is, unfortunately, a difficult one to make and needs

support from hard data that demonstrates the contributions being made by older

workers and stronger acceptance of the company’s products and services among older

consumers.

A marketplace without boundaries? Responding to disruption (PwC 18th Annual Global CEO Survey,

2015), 33.

Older Persons’ Right to Work and Productive Resources

appears at the end of this Work.

• How are you ensuring that your organization has access to the skills it needs now and

in the future and what strategies do you have in place to ensure that you are looking

as widely as possible for talent? A concerted effort needs to be made to identify how

and where qualified older workers can be engaged in the recruiting process.

• What measures of diversity are important to help your organization achieve its goals?

A diverse and inclusive workplace includes many different types of people of

different races, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, physical abilities, ages, or

other characteristics, all of whom rightfully feel fully integrated and comfortable

within the organization. D&I strategies need to include metrics for measuring

performance across a range of factors including employee engagement, identifying

and addressing areas of unconscious bias, equitable practices in recruitment and

distribution of diverse talent both at different levels in the organization and within

specific teams.

_______________

Additional Resources

• J. Bersin and K. Enderes, “Elevating Equity: The Real Story of Diversity and Inclusion”, Josh

Bersin Academy and Perceptyx (2020)

• J. Bourke, S. Garr, A. van Berkel and J. Wong, “Diversity and inclusion: The reality gap”,

Deloitte Insights (February 28, 2017)

• S. Bride, Special report: Silicon valley’s dirty secret-age bias. Reuters (November 27, 2012)

• D. Cravit, “Should DEI Include Age? Only 8% of Companies Include ‘Age’ as Part of Their

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategy”, Everything Zoomer (April 4, 2022)

• M. Gerhardt, J. Nachemson-Ekwall and B. Fogel, Gentelligence: The Revolutionary Approach to

Leading an Intergenerational Workforce (Lanham Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2021)

• M. Gerhardt, J. Nachemson-Ekwall and B. Fogel, “Harnessing the Power of Age Diversity”,

Harvard Business Review (March 8, 2022)

• Hecker, S. Spaulding and D. Kuehn, Digital Skills and Older Workers: Supporting Success in

Training and Employment in a Digital World, Urban Institute (September 2021)

• Hirsch, “Taking Steps to Eliminate Racism in the Workplace”, Society for Human Resource

Management (October 22, 2018)

• L. Iyer and J. Kirschenbaum, How Companies Can Advance Racial Equity and Create Business

Growth (April 8, 2019)

• Y. Lee, “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace | Tips for Starting a DEI Committee”,

Idealist (July 18, 2019)

• Martin and M. North, “Equality for (almost) all: Egalitarian advocacy predicts lower endorsement

of sexism and racism, but not ageism”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (2021)

• O. Staley, “Out of corporate America’s diversity failures, a new industry is emerging”, Quartz

(October 10, 2017))

• A marketplace without boundaries? Responding to disruption (PwC 18th Annual Global CEO

Survey, 2015)

• How to Measure Diversity and Inclusion: Understanding If Your DEI Programs Are Working

(Millan Data Science Strategies)

• International Labour Standards on Equality of opportunity and treatment

• Leveraging the Value of an Age-Diverse Workforce (SHRM Foundation Executive Briefing)

See, e.g., How to Measure Diversity and Inclusion: Understanding If Your DEI Programs Are Working

(Millan Data Science Strategies).

Older Persons’ Right to Work and Productive Resources

appears at the end of this Work.

• National Credit Union Association Voluntary Credit Union Self-Assessment Checklist on Best

Practices for Demonstrating a Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion, OMB No. 313340193 (Expired

3/31/2019)

• Older Americans are increasingly unwilling—or unable—to retire, National Public Radio

(October 9, 2019)

• The value of experience: AARP multicultural work & jobs study chartbook for total respondents

(AARP Research Report, 2018)

• Questions and Answers on Business, Discrimination and Equality, International Labour

Organization

• Winter 2022 Fortune/Deloitte CEO Survey

_____________

Older Persons’ Right to Work and Productive Resources

appears at the end of this Work.

____________________

About the Author

This Work was written by Alan S. Gutterman, whose prolific output of practical guidance and tools for

legal and financial professionals, managers, entrepreneurs and investors has made him one of the best-

selling individual authors in the global legal publishing marketplace. His cornerstone work, Business

Transactions Solution, is an online-only product available and featured on Thomson Reuters’ Westlaw, the

world’s largest legal content platform, which includes almost 200 book-length modules covering the entire

lifecycle of a business. Alan has also authored or edited over 100 books on sustainable entrepreneurship,

leadership and management, business law and transactions, international law and business and technology

management for a number of publishers including Thomson Reuters, Practical Law, Kluwer, Aspatore,

Oxford, Quorum, ABA Press, Aspen, Sweet & Maxwell, Euromoney, Business Expert Press, Harvard

Business Publishing, CCH and BNA. Alan has extensive experience as a partner and senior counsel with

internationally recognized law firms counseling small and large business enterprises in the areas of general

corporate and securities matters, venture capital, mergers and acquisitions, international law and

transactions, strategic business alliances, technology transfers and intellectual property, and has also held

senior management positions with several technology-based businesses including service as the chief legal

officer of a leading international distributor of IT products headquartered in Silicon Valley and as the chief

operating officer of an emerging broadband media company. He has been an adjunct faculty member at

several colleges and universities, including Berkeley Law, Golden Gate University, Hastings College of

Law, Santa Clara University and the University of San Francisco, teaching classes on corporate finance,

venture capital, corporate governance, Japanese business law and law and economic development. He has

also launched and oversees projects relating to sustainable entrepreneurship and the civil and human rights

of older persons. He received his A.B., M.B.A., and J.D. from the University of California at Berkeley, a

D.B.A. from Golden Gate University, and a Ph. D. from the University of Cambridge. For more

information about Alan and his activities, please contact him directly at alangutterman@gmail.com, follow

him on LinkedIn, subscribe to his newsletter and visit his website at alangutterman.com. Many of Alan’s

research papers and other publications are also available through SSRN and Google Scholar.

Alan launched and leads the Older Persons’ Rights Project, which is a California nonprofit public benefit

corporation with tax exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code dedicated to

advancing awareness of the challenges and opportunities associated with increased longevity; combatting

and eliminating prejudice against older persons and age discrimination in all its forms; defending the

human and civil rights of older persons secured by law, with particular attention to the rights of members of

vulnerable groups; and promoting and advancing the interests of older persons in society as a whole

through education and efforts to enhance intergenerational solidarity. The Project engages in high-quality,

independent research with the goal of providing innovative, practical recommendations for policymakers,

businesses and civil society on addressing ageism and improving the lives of older persons.

retained by Alan S. Gutterman; however, the copyright owner grants the public the non-exclusive right to

copy, distribute, or display the Work under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

(CC BY-NC-SA) 4.0 License.

041622

Influence of Gender, Age and Ethnic Diversity on the Autonomy of Faith-Based University Councils in Malawi

Article

Dec 2022

Dennis John Rabson Matekenya

This study sought to establish the influence of gender, age and ethnic diversity on the autonomy of faith-based university councils in Malawi using a Correlational Research Design with a sample of 200 respondents from whom 175 turned up. Data was collected through a validated questionnaire to which respondents had to indicate their agreement or disagreement with particular statements. Data analysis was done by using the IBM’s SPSS software. The study affirmed the existing literature that age mix should be considered when constituting a governing body of a higher education institution for its proper functioning. The study further confirmed the role of gender in the appointment of the governing body of a college or a university as it has been found that gender mix brings different perspectives that enrich the deliberations in a University Council. Ethnic diversity is an important factor to be considered when constituting a University Council as the diversity provides unique opportunities for resource mobilization, enlisting international flavor and mitigating negative perceptions that comes from having members from one ethnic grouping. It is therefore recommended that those constituting University Councils should consider demographic diversity as part of the criteria of coming up with University Council members. Particularly, considerations about gender diversity, age diversity and ethnic diversity are vital in ensuring that the governing councils are effective in their functions.

How to Measure Diversity and Inclusion: Understanding If Your DEI Programs Are Working (Millan Data Science Strategies)

E G See

See, e.g., How to Measure Diversity and Inclusion: Understanding If Your DEI Programs Are Working (Millan Data Science Strategies).

The summary of the four practices (included quotations) is adapted from the description

Mar 2021
HARVARD BUS REV

M Gerhardt
J Nachemson-Ekwall
B Fogel

M. Gerhardt, J. Nachemson-Ekwall and B. Fogel, Gentelligence: The Revolutionary Approach to Leading an Intergenerational Workforce (Lanham Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2021). The summary of the four practices (included quotations) is adapted from the description provided by the authors in M. Gerhardt, J. Nachemson-Ekwall and B. Fogel, "Harnessing the Power of Age Diversity", Harvard Business Review (March 8, 2022).

Examples of how each of the exercises might be applied are provided in the article

Id. Examples of how each of the exercises might be applied are provided in the article.

Taking Steps to Eliminate Racism in the Workplace

Oct 2018

A Hirsch

A. Hirsch, "Taking Steps to Eliminate Racism in the Workplace", Society for Human Resource Management (October 22, 2018)

Questions and Answers on Business, Discrimination and Equality, International Labour Organization • Winter 2022 Fortune/Deloitte CEO Survey _____________ Older Persons

Jan 2018

• National Credit Union Association Voluntary Credit Union Self-Assessment Checklist on Best Practices for Demonstrating a Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion, OMB No. 313340193 (Expired 3/31/2019) • Older Americans are increasingly unwilling-or unable-to retire, National Public Radio (October 9, 2019) • The value of experience: AARP multicultural work & jobs study chartbook for total respondents (AARP Research Report, 2018) • Questions and Answers on Business, Discrimination and Equality, International Labour Organization • Winter 2022 Fortune/Deloitte CEO Survey _____________ Older Persons' Right to Work and Productive Resources

Creating an Age-Diverse Workplace

Abstract

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