Meander Extras Go here to get a free copy of RealPlayer.  Download it.  Follow the instructions (be sure to note which directory or file area it was saved in), double-click on the link where it was saved to install it-your computer may install it automatically, and then listen to these interviews.  Note that when you click on the "Listen to the interview", it could take a few minutes to load, so go get a cup of tea while the audio is loading... Meet the new poet laureate, Ted Kooser. A self-described shy and retiring Midwesterner, he's being hailed as a major voice for rural and small town life. Kooser has never tried to be a poet's poet. Instead, he wants to use his time as laureate to extend the reach of poetry far beyond the reading room and literary journal -- and straight into the great, wide heart of America. Listen to the interview... A five-year-old Franz Wright once reportedly made the following request of his parents: "Excuse me. Do you think, because it's my birthday, we could not talk about poetry today?" Franz Wright was a poet's son. His father's friends were poets. And he grew up with the idea that all grownups did was talk about poetry. Well, four decades later, Wright is still talking about poetry. And a lot of people are talking about HIS, including the committee that awards the Pulitzer Prize. This year, they gave it to him. Thirty two years earlier, they'd given it to his father, James Wright. The gift, you might say, runs in the family. But so do some other tendencies, which once prevented the poet from being able to write anything at all. Listen to the interview... Jack Kerouac wrote: "Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life." His words are the creed of the RV set also known as Tin Can Tourists, Gypsies and Escapees. These ramblers whittle their lives down to the bare necessities, have a yard sale, sell the house, grab the kids, stuff themselves into a thirty foot home on wheels and hit the road. Listen to the interview...

Bracing for Bias

Age discrimination hits harder—and sooner—than ever. What do you do when experience becomes a liability?

By Renee Kruger

For five years, NAFE member Sadie* played an instrumental role in bringing a "mom-and-pop shop" with $30,000 to its current fiscal revenues of $3 million. But instead of appreciation, six months ago the 58-year-old sensed trouble. "I’m hearing that my usefulness may be coming to an end," she wrote NAFE. "Suddenly, I am faced with an unfamiliar management style involving micromanagement, denigration of the staff, and questions regarding my ability to manage the very business generated under my guidance."

Less than four weeks later, Sadie lost her job, with no reason given. Nearing 60, she now finds herself starting over in a new post at half her previous salary—and suing her former employer for age discrimination. "I can’t believe this is all happening," she says. "It seems that as my salary, benefits, and age increased, my value decreased."

An age-old problem, the kind of workplace bias sensed by women like Sadie is more prevalent than ever. Since 1994, one in five discrimination cases filed involved age discrimination, and between 1998 and 2002 alone, age-related cases jumped from 19 to 24 percent of discrimination cases. What’s more, victims feel the pain earlier than ever.

"People in their late 50s and early 60s used to experience the most widespread discrimination, but now age bias begins in the late 40s, particularly in the technology and financial services industries," asserts Sheldon Steinhauser, associate professor of sociology at The Metropolitan State College of Denver, and president of Sheldon Steinhauser & Associates, Inc., a diversity consulting firm specializing in age-related issues. For women, age bias hits even sooner, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which reports that anecdotal evidence suggests age discrimination for women begins at 34 in some industries.

"We have a case involving a 32-year-old Hollywood writer who pretended she was 18 because she thought she would lose her job if they knew her real age," reports Dan Kohrman, a senior attorney at the AARP, formerly the American Association for Retired Persons. Apparently, the writer was right—her employer soon learned her real age and let her go.

Why the rush to rid workplaces of talented, accomplished, and experienced individuals? Experts point first to a youth-oriented culture. "Magazines and fine art—more so in the U.S. than in any place in the world—depict incredibly young women," says Claire Raines, author of Connecting Generations, who points out that the "perfect age of 22" myth is so pervasive that women themselves fall under its sway. "We tend to buy into this ideal and dismiss how effective we are as we get older. Intellectually and emotionally, we’re terribly torn about all this."

That youth orientation often blinds companies to the contribution older workers can make. "Some companies don’t appreciate what they’re losing when they shed older workers," laments Kohrman. "This kind of thinking has led to a lot of talented people, many in their 50s and 60s, being let go, denied opportunities, or forced out."

Economic turbulence fans the flames. In a corporate environment characterized by aggressive cost-cutting, intensifying competition, and rampant consolidation, some employers opt to eliminate higher-paid positions—typically held by older workers—and "re-staff" by recruiting and retaining young executives with high potential. Discrimination statistics underscore that reengineering philosophy, according to Cari M. Dominguez, chair of the EEOC. "When employers start reorganizing and restructuring," she says, "we often see a peak [in age claims]."

Fighting Back

Can anything stop the progression of discrimination? In theory, the law should. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 prohibits discrimination on the basis of age for employees age 40 and over. A 1986 amendment to the Act eliminated the mandatory retirement age, which prior to 1978 was as early as age 65. Both the EEOC and private employment attorneys litigate on behalf of victims—and win. In fact, the median age discrimination award now weighs in at a hefty $268,000, significantly higher than the $100,000 to $175,000 awards typical for cases involving race, gender, and/or disability, according to Philadelphia-based Jury Verdict Research.

But despite courtroom victories and the climb in cases filed, experts argue that most age discrimination goes unreported, either because the process intimidates people or because cases get turned down by counsel or thrown out of court due to lack of evidence. "While stereotyping of ‘older workers,’ both subtle and blatant, is widespread across all industries today, it’s often difficult to have direct evidence of age bias," says Steinhauser. "Companies document away from age as a factor so carefully, many people don’t even realize they’re victims of age discrimination."

And when they do, no matter how successful the suit, it won’t bring a career—not to mention damaged self-esteem—back. Even the most accomplished employees find it demoralizing to be excluded from strategic planning sessions, see responsibilities divvied up among younger workers, or feel the sting of age-related jests. Just ask Sadie.

Suspended and then notified of her termination just a few weeks after e-mailing NAFE with her suspicions, Sadie collected documentation of the behavior she experienced and plans to litigate. But regardless of how her lawsuit progresses, she now copes with a loss of salary and benefits, as well as the emotional toll of the indignities suffered before her dismissal.

Reassessing for Success

Fortunately, there are other ways to address the age bias issue. One preemptive measure is to choose an employer with a track record of recognizing the value of older workers. Companies like CVS Corporation and Deloitte Consulting, for example, not only pledge to value experience, they offer programs tailored to the needs of near-retirement workers. "Phased retirement" programs, for example, enable employees to retire in stages by reducing the number of hours worked prior to retiring, taking another job after retirement, or being rehired in a different capacity after retirement.

Companies with this or other succession planning or retention programs geared toward older workers are less prone to age bias, as demonstrated by the AARP’s annual list of the 15 best companies for older workers (see box, below). Of the most recent list, five out of 15 specifically provide phased retirement and an additional two offer "flexible work options and arrangements."

While the absence of such programs doesn’t necessarily mean a company devalues older workers, it may suggest that it’s time to raise awareness, push for programs that truly leverage experience, and dispel the negative myths around older workers. One big plus? America actually needs its older workers more than ever before, says Dr. Dale Masi, a professor at the University of Maryland’s Graduate School of Social Work and CEO of Masi Research Consultants Inc., an employee assistance firm based in D.C.

Thanks to a declining birth rate, "we are not reproducing ourselves as a country," explains Masi. "Right now many people can’t find jobs, but in less than a decade, businesses won’t be able to refill the workforce they need. It’s incumbent upon the workplace to figure out what can be done about it, starting with grooming elder workers."

Moreover, HR professionals anticipate this scarcity of talent—particularly in the upper echelons—to hit at a time when knowledge capital becomes the ultimate resource. "Organizations face a business era where talent—the unique knowledge and capabilities of the people who make a business—is the last frontier of competitive advantage," asserts Anna M. Rappaport, principal of Chicago-based Mercer Human Resources Consulting. "Employers are starting to invest more time in how they manage, develop, and leverage the talent of all age demographics."

Yet because of some erroneous assumptions about older workers’ inability to change with the times, lower productivity, and more costly health benefits, the talent drive currently focuses on younger workers. Progressive employers, however, find these complaints unwarranted. Thanks to healthy diets and workout regimes, today’s baby boomers are healthier—mentally and physically—than previous generations of 50- to 60-year-olds, tend to carry fewer dependents on their health insurance than their younger colleagues, and are more focused because they don’t have the distractions of raising a family.

The bottom line? "Companies that purposefully retain their [older workers] might find that they are not only complying with civil rights policy but enacting a move consistent with good business," says Kohrman.

The Power of Perception

In the meantime, women must fight personal battles on the age bias front. "We need to watch that we don’t reinforce the stereotypes of older workers," suggests Raines, who urges a positive approach in communicating the value of experience. "Saying, ‘We tried that before and it didn’t work,’ is negative. Instead, you might say, ‘When we tried that eight years ago, it didn’t go well because of this and that, so let’s try it like this now.’ Show a willingness to try things again, but with a new spin."

It’s equally essential to keep your skills and knowledge up to date. "Get away from the thinking that you have to be asked to do something in your job," says NAFE member Jeri Sedlar, a partner in New York-based executive search firm Sedlar & Miners and co-author of Don’t Retire, Rewire! Instead, ask to attend corporate training sessions and learn about new technology. "View yourself as an actor continuously going on auditions," she says. "You can’t just coast. You have to make sure you have the stamina to be a player. It’s time to kick your own butt."

Actively integrating with the younger generation—a process often referred to as "reverse mentoring"—is another way to overcome age bias, adds Raines. "It could become a two-way mentoring relationship where the younger person shares information about her generation, and you share years of work and life experience."

Subtleties of stamina can make a big difference in workplace perception, too. "It’s wonderful to be adventuresome, athletic, and fit, but a rewired, energetic attitude is just as wonderful," says Sedlar. So she recommends that when coworkers ask what you did on the weekend, don’t say "how tired you are. These are small, innocent things, but we sometimes don’t realize how much they matter."

Taking a good, hard look in the mirror is another reality of the age game. "We all size each other up based on appearances," contends Laura Parisse-Polidori, an image development consultant for Image for Excellence LLC, based in Cherry Hill and Lumberton, NJ. "You have to think of yourself visually as a marketing tool. If you look dated, people assume that your knowledge and your abilities are dated."

Evaluate body language, clothing colors, clothing fit, and makeup to portray "energy and vibrancy," she suggests. "This isn’t about looking trendy; this is about looking as healthy, energetic, and natural as possible."

Women entrenched in this battle should keep their sense of humor and support one another, adds Sadie, now much wiser to age bias. "In our younger years we hit the ‘glass ceiling,’ and then as we age, we hit the ‘aging ceiling,’ " she notes. "But other women can be your greatest allies."

Because of the difficulty of proving age bias, NAFE recommends litigation as a last resort. But when all else fails, consider consulting with the EEOC or an employment attorney. If age bias played a role in how your firm treated you, litigation may help resolve matters.

Above all, focus on your long-term happiness. Even when workplace bias doesn’t trigger termination, its emotional toll can be just as costly. When you spot signs of age-related bias, explore your options. Seek out a company with a culture that values experience, or think about transitioning to self-employment or a flextime program. Ultimately, getting the appreciation you deserve will provide the fulfillment you need to move on.