Do you believe the common saying, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks?” And more importantly, do you realize how harmful that line of thinking can be?

A recent study from New & Improved, a change agency dedicated to creating spaces of true diversity, inclusion and belonging, where everyone can thrive, revealed that 42% of employees under 30 and a whopping 78% of employees over 30 reported experiencing ageism in the workplace. Nowhere is this more rampant than in the advertising space – both in the messaging and imagery of the ads that we consume as well as within the industry itself. Despite being such an open secret, “ageism” is still one of the accepted “-isms,” and its impact can be felt across the spectrum, from recruiting and hiring practices to workplace micro and macro aggressions to client expectations.

How can companies incorporate age-inclusion into every part of their work, from hiring to workplace culture to product? In a recent From Day One webinar about “Addressing Ageism in Ad Agencies,” leaders offered actionable solutions.

The Silent Signals of Ageism

AARP’s senior advisor of financial resilience, Heather Tinsley-Fix notes that ageism shows up in a professional environment in three ways:

1. Stereotypes: How we think – see the infamous aphorism about old dogs and new tricks above!
2. Prejudice: How we feel – e.g. assuming an older coworker will be slow to respond or inversely, assuming someone is slow to respond because they are older.
3. Discrimination: How we act – compounded by the presence of the first two, this can be the most harmful, leading to passing over someone for a promotion or keeping someone off of a team.
4. Such ageism can appear from hiring and retention to internal workflows, creative concepts, client relationships, and more – and employers are aware. In fact, according to a study from New & Improved, 75% of industry professionals are very concerned about the impact of ageism on the industry.

Age Discrimination’s Effect on Strategic Goals

Older workers report being ghosted by recruiters and companies, not being able to land a job despite being qualified, and being told to shave years of their resume to avoid the dreaded “two-pager,” which might signal their age to hiring managers. “When you have all this great experience to share, it should be celebrated,” Tinsley-Fix said.

But age discrimination doesn’t just impact older workers. “On the more junior side, you might be passed up for a promotion, not given stretch assignments, left out of meetings, or not be allowed to present your own work,” said Lisa Balser, founder and creative director of New & Improved, stagnating a company’s potential workforce as its leaders start to age out.

Younger workers report not being taken seriously, being talked down to or treated like they don’t know anything, and being told outright that they don’t have enough years of experience. And in the advertising world, these young people are not even “young” for that long!

Balser notes that in many industries, workers 35-40 are not considered old, and there is an innate respect for experience in seniority. In the fast-paced advertising, marketing, and branding world that is not the case. And because of the nature of that work, that industry-specific ageism can have a far-reaching impact. “Because we reflect and affect culture, we're in this position that's fairly unique,” Balser said. Ageism shows up in the company’s product, which is consumed by the culture at large.

An Intersectional Perspective

“Age is the one aspect of identity that we all share,” Tinsley-Fix said. And it intersects with all other aspects of identity and can unfortunately lead to compounded intersectional discrimination.

“AARP research shows that people of color experience ageism more than white people do. Women experience ageism more than men do.” People of marginalized identities, such as people of color or LGBTQIA+ identifying employees, might already find themselves at a disadvantage, only for ageism to set them back that much farther.

In the advertising world specifically, Balser says, workers begin to “age out” at different ages depending on gender. For women, it’s after 30. For men, it’s after 35-40. Gen Z and younger Millennials tend to be more prepared for this, as it’s more common for them to pursue a side hustle that they turn into a full career. Older generations are less likely to have a backup plan. Women’s current or potential reproductive choices also factor into how they are viewed in the workforce.

Ageism in Ad Content

Age-based bias also shows up in ad content itself. Tinsley-Fix shared an example of a cartoon ad for a health coaching company, portraying women at various ages over 45, all of whom looked like a stereotypical “little old lady,” and all of whom were white. 

The same ad, but created for men, showed fit shirtless younger looking men, all still white. “This does all of us a disservice. It doesn't matter how we identify,” Balser said. “This is not good for any of us because it's perpetuating stereotypes.” Because so many young people fear aging, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. “We don't have a real picture of what natural aging looks like, because of all these interventions that are starting so young,” Balser said.

Being dismissive of the older demographic in advertising is also bad business. In doing so, the ads are dismissive of a large group of people with disposable income. “People 50+ show up in 15% of ads, yet they are a third of the population,” Tinsley-Fix added.

Strategies to Become More Age-Inclusive

One way to combat systemic ageism, Balser says, is to move away from using salary bands. Under that model, “you can hire a junior team for one senior salary,” and potentially eliminate older workers in favor of bringing on a less expensive team.

On the flip side, companies need to recognize that “older” does not always equal “experienced” and should be careful not to pass over otherwise highly qualified young people for leadership positions in favor of an older colleague based on years served alone. Rather than discount a younger person on age, Balser says, an organization should invest in the time and resources to provide them with training.

There is a value in both levels of experience. “Everybody brings something to the table,” said Tinsley-Fix. With the modern workforce being multigenerational, companies can learn to leverage “that harmonious mix” of experience and freshness.

Finally, DEI, which should include age, can’t be a footnote that gets tacked on at the end of a process, especially when it comes to advertising development. “It should be baked into everything, from who you're hiring to how you’re hiring to the brief to the story you're telling,” Balser said. This includes occasionally pushing back and having honest conversations with clients who might express biases of their own.

AARP provides a guide with checklists and prompt questions that ad agencies can use to assess potential instances of age discrimination within their workflow and corporate structure.

The speakers offered five key takeaways for organizational improvement: 
1. Ditch the stereotypes: Examine your unconscious biases around age, observe how myths are proven wrong in your teams and across your organization.

2. Lead with curiosity: Work to identify the intent and interest behind the attitudes and actions of those from other generations. Choose curiosity over judgment.

3. Pay attention to casual ageism: Would you make similar remarks about other aspects of identity?

4. Push to work with people of different ages: Studies show that mixed age teams come up with more creative and inclusive solutions.

5. Adopt a growth mindset: Everybody has something to teach, and everyone has something to learn.

With these tenets in mind, organizational leaders can develop an inclusive mindset that will impact not only their work culture, but also improve the quality of their product.

Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, AARP, for sponsoring this webinar. 

Katie Chambers is a freelance writer and award-winning communications executive with a lifelong commitment to supporting artists and advocating for inclusion. Her work has been seen in HuffPost, Honeysuckle Magazine, and several printed essay collections, among others, and she has appeared on Cheddar News, iWomanTV, and CBS New York.