Ageism + sexism=axeing older women?
ref: When Ladies' Night isn't for all ladies, STimes, 11 July 2007

Recently, a local nightspot refused to give a woman the free drinks they promised to all ladies on a certain day of the week. The reason given was that she was 55, over the age limit of 35 to qualify.

This prompted a reader to ask the author of this article, which mattered more, the age or gender discrimination in this case?

The author recognised this as a hybrid of both and proceeded to explain why. however, let me give you my interpretation of this case as both ageism and sexism.

The ageism part is definitely quite clear, as the nightspot refused to grant a woman the privileges they accorded to other women just because she was older. The case of sexism however, is not so clear, but i assume it is because older men do not get the same discrimination older women get, in this case in the context of a nightspot.

For example, you don't see older men get barred from entering clubs and nightspots, whereas there have been cases where older women were barred. Men of all ages are welcome to these places, whether you are a hip youngster, a rich middle-aged business men or a chee koh pek (hokkien for dirty old men) looking for some fun. Women, however, do not recieve the same equality as men. Older women are frowned upon in nightspots simply because they are not as attractive, sexy or nubile as their younger counterparts.

This problem of ageism plus sexism isn't just restricted to the nightlife. In our workplaces and communities, gender and age lines are still drawn, albeit subtly and sometimes unknowingly. For example, many companies still favour younger workers than older ones, and male ones at that. It seems that our impression of males is generally that of being strong, decisive and in charge, whereas women are often viewed as weak willed and dependent on men. Thus, it is no wonder that society still favours men and younger women, as older women are seen to be less efficient, slow and dependent, when in reality many of them are as independent and intelligent as the men.

The tendency for the media today to publicise the "beauty is youth" idea has further encouraged this discrimination. Advertisements and magazines today are filled with images of sexy, young women from cover to cover, emphasizing the idea that beauty comes with youth. In appearance related jobs, older women are shunned, naturally, as who wants to see women ravaged by the sands of time appearing on their magazines?

As such, due to the stereotyping of older women by men and younger women, older women have the disadvantages when competing against them in jobs and elsewhere. However, there are currently no laws protecting them from the combination of sexism and ageism. Should the law then recognize such discrimination?

On one hand, to be equally fair to everyone, it should, so as to ensure the protection of older women's privileges. However, such laws would be hard to enforce as this discrimination is hard to distinguish from more legitimate measures taken for practical reasons. For example, companies which refuse to hire older workers could be doing so purely because they needed qualified workers and older women who applied just didnt make the cut? Should the government adopt measures to control the demographics of employees just to prevent age-gender discrimination and in the process compromise their much extolled principle of meritocracy?

Personally I feel that moves to criminalise such discrimination, though noteworthy, is little more than useless nitpicking. After all, companies and firms do have the right to protect their own interests and that includes being able to hire people that are qualified enough to do the job, regardless of gender or age. Putting too much restrictions on them will only serve to hinder their progress. Employing legislature to ensure older women as a separate group have their privileges protected is too tricky. The government needs to find other ways to change this phenomenon.

In my opinion, what is most needed is a change in mindset of society. We must stop labelling these women as incapable, dependent people who have passed their expiry date. Older women have every right as the rest of us to lead independent, productive lives. We must realise that beauty does not come with youth, rather inner beauty is more important and valuable and is enriched only by age.

Older women have the advantage of being more experienced and thus more qualified to set role models especially to younger women. It is thus a shame that society often brands them as useless and does not give them a chance to excel.

The government can come up with all kinds of policies and measures to prevent discrimination but in the end, it all boils down to a change in the way we view older women. We recognise women's equality with men, we recognize men to be effective regardless of age, why can't we do the same for women?

After all, ageing is but a necessary process we must all go through. If we want our children to treat us with respect, we must first treat our elders, especially females, with the same kind of respect.