Work & Jobs/Age Discrimination

After more than two years of covid disruption, we are all trying to return to a more normal life.  But normal now may mean something different — where you work, how you work, when you work, is definitely up for discussion these days.  

During the lockdown, Latinos struggled, sometimes more than others, and for many reasons.  High atop the list was the fact that a disproportionately large number of Hispanics hold essential services jobs. Latinos were often the backbone to what little normalcy remained — the ability to shop at stores, take transportation, secure childcare, procure contractors and/or repair people. That meant greater exposure, more sickness and higher death rates.  

For Latinas, in multigenerational homes, life became even more challenging. It is not a coincidence that from 2019 to 2020, there was a 27% increase of women across all demographics who started their own businesses. 

We partner with AARP because they are a great organization for older people re-entering the workforce, getting some support, re-navigating, rethinking and maybe even reinventing your work life.

In the first six months of the year, people 55 years and older were 17% more likely to lose their jobs.  If you were among that group, you may be asking yourself if you want to pick up where you left off or whether you want to make a career change or perhaps get serious about the small business you started to keep yourself afloat during the past two years.  The 50+ Small Business Resource Center is a critical starting place if you are launching or growing a business. 

Our partner’s AARP’s Work and Jobs page is a good way for you to begin to evaluate your options. If you are looking for new work, it’s wise to keep your skills competitive, and to create a resume that is as spellbinding as possible.   Advice is here and one of the ways AARP shows its advocacy for people 50 and over is to offer a free resume review as well as some packages to get professional help in putting your best self forward.   If you are considering a new offer, then weighing the options, balancing your head and your heart to make the right decision is discussed here.  

Ageism remains the elephant in the room.  Post-pandemic, older workers are often finding themselves considered for jobs, after younger candidates.   Even as the economy improves, many older adults believe their struggle to find work is related to age.  AARP has long been the voice and advocate against age discrimination and again has a wealth of information and resources.

Finally, for Latinas, who seem to face greater uphill battles and greater scrutiny on how they look and dress as they get older, this interesting study — Mirror/Mirror 2021 — offers great insights on the perceptions of beauty and age and the role that the media plays in creating the disparity between how women feel about themselves and their representation, particularly in advertising and media.  It’s interesting and affirming.