Identify 2 or 3 issues faced by the aging population.
1. Discrimination – insults, jokes and criticisms regarding age 2. Lack of job opportunities, 3. or being passed up for a job by a younger employee.
Answer the following questions in 100 to 200 words each. Provide citations for all the sources you use.
• What is ageism? How does ageism influence the presence of diversity in society? Ageism refers to the discrimination and prejudice that a person faces based on their age. Ageism is typically experienced among older people aged fifty and beyond, but can occur within younger people as well.
Ageism may symbolize death to some people, which causes society to have negative feelings surrounding growing old, getting deathly ill and passing away. To young people and middle-aged adults, being old is a reminder that they, too will begin to deteriorate. Society is more positive about young people, tying them to a bright, endless future and being full of possibilities.
• What is the Age Discriminitation in Employment Act (ADEA)? How does the ADEA address issues for the aging population? The Age Discrimination in Employment Act was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. This was made to protect all workers who were forty years and older from being fired and replaced with younger workers to perform their jobs for lower pay. The ADEA also protects older employees from denial of benefits due to age, protection from discrimination in the hiring process, and prohibits mandatory retirement.
• What is being done to address the issues you identified? Education and awareness are spreading to address discrimination and insults. Legislation has been passed regarding treatment in employment and equal opportunity of employment but there is still more that needs to be done. Older adults do take up a lot more of the job market then we think, and it is being proven now that people are becoming healthier as they age and are able to work longer than before.
Research, science and the media help spread information that could help benefit the elderly and educate the public on real issues that are experienced by older adults everyday. Radio advertisements and television commercials are starting to gear towards older adults, but for the most part, advertising has been aimed at the younger generation.
• Is the number of aging population expected to rise in numbers or decrease? The number of aging population is expected to increase, as it has steadily increased throughout the century. In the 1960’s, the percentage of elderly over sixty-five was about 10%. It continued to steadily rise throughout the 1970’s and the ‘90’s, achieving 13% by 2010. The Bureau of the Census estimates that 2030, the number of elderly over age sixty-five will be 20%, almost 24% by 2050. The Bureau of the Census also predicts that by 2050, the elderly over the age of 65 will be mostly non-whites and Latinos, with numbers increasing through the years.
• What types of legislation may or may not be affected by the aging population? Hot-button issues such as gay marriage may be affected by the aging population in that they are from an older generation where such behavior is frowned upon. Because the older population makes up a lot of the population (or a majority of the younger kids that agree on these issues but cannot vote yet), there are some forms of legislature which appear to be very one-sided, but could be changing in the future.
• How does poverty affect the aging population?
Part II
Answer the following questions in 100 to 200 words each. Provide citations for all the sources you use.
• What does the ADA provide for people with disabilities? The American with Disabilities Act was effective starting in 1992. This law prohibits bias in employment, transportation, public
