Confronting ageism


Priority Area: Ageism Goal: To enhance community and political aware- ness about ageist attitudes and to eliminate age- based discriminatory practices. Background: Ageism refers to the


stereotyping, prejudice and discrimi- nation towards people on the basis of age. Although ageism can be directed at people of any age, it is most com- monly directed at older adults. Age- ism manifests itself in beliefs that older adults are unproductive, useless, and a burden. Such beliefs can lead to vari- ety of discriminatory actions, such as: • The use of patronizing, demean- ing language when interacting with older adults; • Biases in hiring and not provid-


opment of policies that meaningfully address finan- cial security, housing, social inclusion, transportation and active living opportunities for older Manitobans. We need to critically examine stereotypical beliefs about later life and take action to ad- dress ageism in order to support all Manitobans in aging well. Recognizing that ageism is ingrained


A & O:


Support Services for Older Adults


ing re-training opportunities for older adults in the workforce; • Devaluing the contributions of older people to


society; and • Perpetuating the myth that older people are bankrupting social and health care systems. In 2016, older Canadians made up 16.9% of the total population of the country and 15.6% of the Manitoba population. Older adults now outnumber children for the first time. This trend is expected to continue. It is projected that approximately 23% to 25% of the Canadian population will be over the age of 65 years by 2036.


Despite the aging of the population, negative im- ages of later life persist and are generally accepted. The stereotypical beliefs that give rise to ageism are deeply embedded in our society and are reflected in the lack of proactive policy development, funding al- location, program and service development. Ongoing efforts to address sexism and racism have shown that it is possible to change social norms. It is time to stop defining people based solely on their age. Only when the systemic issue of ageism is ad- dressed will there be positive movement in the devel-


in societal structures and attitudes and that it gives rise to discrimination against older adults, the Manitoba Seniors Coalition recommends the following specific measures to com- bat ageism. These recommendations are based on findings from Ontario’s Discussion Paper Discrimination and Age: Human Rights Issues Facing Older Persons in Ontario, released in July 2000.


Action: • The province should evaluate laws, policies and


programs to remove age-based stereotypes and en- sure they reflect the needs of older persons. • The department of Education and Training, school boards and schools must develop programs and activities that will encourage a better under- standing and positive perception of older persons. Intergenerational programming between students and older persons is an integral part of such educa- tion. • Professional faculties such as medicine, nursing, social work and nutritional sciences should better prepare graduates to work with older persons in a more supportive manner, without stereotypes and assumptions. • Regulated professions and voluntary profes- sional associations must take steps to raise aware- ness among their membership about ageism and age discrimination and provide continuing education in this area. Additional action items may include: • Ongoing communication with the public, espe-


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cially older adults, to identify and discuss ageism and how to combat it. • Province-wide distribution of educational mate- rials on ageism and age discrimination, preferably in written and audiovisual formats. • Public education forums across the province. • Education on ageism in the workplace. A & O: Support Services for Older Adults is located at 200-280 Smith Street, Winnipeg. Call 204-956-6440, email intake@aosupportservices.ca, or go online to www. aosupportservices.ca.


August 2019


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