But she was taken aback by the extent to which middle-aged women like O'Neill reported experiencing age-related discrimination at work.
"When men get to their 40s or 50s, they're considered to be in the prime of their careers," Diehl told me.
In one 2019 poll of 400 US workers ages 40 and older, more men than women reported experiencing or witnessing age discrimination on the job.
Research has also found that older job seekers face age discrimination regardless of gender, despite a 56-year-old federal law that purportedly protects against older-age discrimination in employment.
It's undeniable that workplace age discrimination occurs across gender lines, but the qualitative experiences surfaced by Diehl, Stephenson, and Dzubinski help paint a picture of how an open culture around age discrimination can ultimately end up fueling good, old-fashioned sexism.
Persons:
Julie O'Neill, O'Neill, Julie, WCPO, —, ageism, pats, Amy Diehl, wasn't, they're, Diehl, It's, Amber L, Stephenson, Leanne, dory, she'd, Kelli María Korducki
Organizations:
Cincinnati Bengals, Harvard Business, Companies, Research
Locations:
COVID, midlife, Cincinnati, WCPO, New York City