LinkedIn Blog – British Society of Gerontology, Special Interest Group on Ageism
3 June 2025
Steve Milsom, a member of our Steering Group, has been working on ageism and age discrimination since 1997, firstly as a senior civil servant in Welsh Government and since retirement in 2013 as an older people’s representative, mainly for two charities – Age Cymru and Cymru Older Peoples Alliance. In this blog he challenges us to banish ageism to history.
Ageism is an issue that can impact on anyone – including young people – but it does impact most directly on older people. Ageism is the only “ism” in society that is not taken seriously and somehow seems socially acceptable. We are in a world that values youth and vitality, and older individuals regularly face prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination solely based on their age. This cannot be right, and we must all make our own contribution to raise the profile of this critical issue and to influence a different and more positive societal response to ageing.
As we all know, the examples of age discrimination are many but seem to be increasing over recent years. The wide use of stereotypes that portray older people as frail, forgetful, technologically challenged, or resistant to change overlook the diversity, community commitment and unique abilities of older people.
The current debate about age discrimination is of course very much welcomed but the language used is also important. A trap that we all readily fall into is to refer to “older people” without any clarification or explanation. In using this generality or shorthand, with genuine intentions to be helpful, we could also be guilty of treating people between 60 and 100+ as if they are all in the same bracket with the same circumstances, needs and wants. We all know that age is a poor indicator of need and that all people have different histories, circumstances and requirements that are not aged based. We must strive not to over generalise and must think diversely, critically and positively about ageing and the effects on the individual.
Despite the range and depth of the ageism deficits, we are also seeing a distinct change of momentum in the efforts to raise the public profile of this important but often mis-understood issue, including through this new Ageism SIG. The House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee published an excellent report on the Rights of Older People earlier this year. Here in Wales, we have an independent Older People’s Commissioner (the fourth since 2008) to champion the rights of older people, a National Strategy for an Ageing Society and a Ministerial Advisory Forum (including a good number of older people’s representatives) who have agreed to launch a National Debate on Age Discrimination in Wales.
Whilst all of these developments are to be welcomed and encouraged, making tangible inroads now and getting political commitment over the next few years to banish ageism to history are imperatives. All of this cannot be “one-off” and must influence fundamental change across society towards ageism.