bias against older workers

“The U.S. cannot afford to continue to perpetuate these -isms”

Accius: Bias against older workers stifles economic growth and costs the U.S. economy billions of dollars
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Bias against older workers hurts everyone, no matter your age. “The fact that people are being marginalized, discriminated against, discounted solely because of their age, actually costs our overall economy, which means that everyone is losing, not just the older adult,” according to Jean Accius, president & CEO of CHC: Creating Healthier Communities and a member of the WorkingNation Advisory Board.

He argues that ageism in the workforce has a broader impact on our society than most people realize. Bias against older workers cost the U.S. economy $850 billion in 2018, according to the Longevity Economic Outlook produced by the AARP where Accius previously served as senior vice president for AARP Thought Leadership and International Affairs.

Along with discrimination against older workers, he says, there is further bias when gender and race are factored in.

“It’s a double whammy if you’re an older adult and you’re an older woman. It’s a triple whammy if you’re an older adult, an older woman, and a person of color. The U.S. cannot afford to continue to perpetuate these -isms both on a social level, both on a moral level, but also on an economic level because it stifles economic growth,” stresses Accius.

He says perceptions need to change about older adults and not treat them as though they are a monolithic group.

“There’s tremendous diversity, tremendous heterogeneity within the population. Not only is the population aging, but they’re actually living much longer,” says Accius.

“There’s tremendous opportunities to really think about how do we leverage, support, enhance, foster engagement of our older adults across the country to actually help us continue to just not grow, but also to survive and thrive.’

CHC, Creating Healthier Communities is a nonprofit that supports the work of other nonprofits with a mission to address health inequities in communities. CHC counts 1,500 nonprofit partners and works with communities, corporate partners and nonprofits to  “achieve improved health outcomes, create inclusive opportunities, and support resilient communities where everyone can thrive.”

Jean Accius spoke with me on the subject of age, health, and economic wellbeing as part of the Age in America series, a collaboration between WorkingNation and Scripps News Network which began in June.

Watch a clip from our interview below.

Ageism impacts our health and or economy | Age in America | Jean Accius

“The fact that people are being marginalized, discriminated against, discounted solely because of their age actually costs our overall economy, which means that everyone is losing not just an older adult,” says Jean Accius, president and CEO of CHC: Creating Healthier Communities. Also, says Accius, there are people being hit by a triple whammy.

Get more of our WorkingNation Age in America articles, videos, and podcasts here.
Get more of Scripps News’ Age in America coverage here.

Dana Beth Ardi

Executive Committee

Dana Beth Ardi, PhD, Executive Committee, is a thought leader and expert in the fields of executive search, talent management, organizational design, assessment, leadership and coaching. As an innovator in the human capital movement, Ardi creates enhanced value in companies by matching the most sought after talent with the best opportunities. Ardi coaches boards and investors on the art and science of building high caliber management teams. She provides them with the necessary skills to seek out and attract top-level management, to design the ideal organizational architectures and to deploy people against strategy. Ardi unearths the way a business works and the most effective way for people to work in them.

Ardi is an experienced business executive and senior consultant who leverages business organizational transformation through talent strategies. She uses her knowledge and experience to develop talent strategies to enhance revenue and profit contributions. She has a deep expertise in change management and organizational effectiveness and has designed and built high performance cultures. Ardi has significant experience in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, IPO’s and turnarounds.

Ardi is an expert on the multi-generational workforce. She understands the four intersecting generations of workers coming together in contemporary companies, each with their own mindsets, leadership and communications styles, values and motivations. Ardi is sought after to assist companies manage and thrive by bringing the generations together. Her book, Fall of the Alphas: How Beta Leaders Win Through Connection, Collaboration and Influence, will be published by St. Martin’s Press. The book reflects Ardi’s deep expertise in understanding organizations and our changing society. It focuses on building a winning culture, how companies must grow and evolve, and how talent influences and shapes communities of work. This is what she has coined “Corporate Anthropology.” It is a playbook on how modern companies must meet challenges – culturally, globally, digitally, across genders and generations.

Ardi is currently the Managing Director and Founder of Corporate Anthropology Advisors, LLC, a consulting company that provides human capital advisory and innovative solutions to companies building value through people. Corporate Anthropology works with organizations, their cultures, the way they grow and develop, and the people who are responsible for forming their communities of work.

Prior to her position at Corporate Anthropology Advisors, Ardi served as a Partner/Managing Director at the private equity firms CCMP Capital and JPMorgan Partners. She was a partner at Flatiron Partners, a venture capital firm working with early state companies where she pioneered the human capital role within an investment portfolio.

Ardi holds a BS from the State University of New York at Buffalo as well as a Masters degree and PhD from Boston College. She started her career as professor at the Graduate Center at Fordham University in New York.