Strength in Age: Harnessing the Power of Networks was the theme at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the … [+]
This year, while Dr. Tina Kruger worked on three different academic projects related to education and aging, the common theme of ageism emerged. Kruger, an associate professor and chair of the Department of Multidisciplinary Studies at Indiana State University, decided the intersectionality of the topic was worthy of broader collaboration and awareness. At this year’s annual Gerontological Society of America (GSA) conference in Austin, Texas, she chaired a symposium highlighting the role that educators and employers can play in reducing ageism; or, unintentionally perpetuating it.
GSA is a science-based organization devoted to aging research, education and practice. The theme of the Austin meeting, Strength in Age: Harnessing the Power of Networks, drew more than 4,000 participants from 42 countries.
Dr. Tina Kruger chaired the symposium, “The Role of Educators and Employers in Reducing (or … [+]
“What excites me most about a session like this is the opportunity to collaborate with others who have similar goals of improving society’s view of older people and the aging experience,” said Kruger, who has been affiliated with GSA since 2007. “Seeing the good works people are doing across sectors, and from a variety of angles, gives me hope that, if we can harness such efforts, we can reduce people’s fear of their future.”
Negative stereotypes and biases can be reduced through education and increased collaboration between what might be seen as disparate groups. Speaking about the recent attention over “OK Boomer,” Kruger believes there is a reason for concern.
“We can’t fight ageism with ageism, any more than we can fight racism with racism, sexism with sexism, or any other –ism with an -ism,” she said. “When we see “old” pitted against “young,” we lose sight of the diversity of the aging experience. Instead, we need to investigate the underlying causes and seek to address those issues through strategies that empower people of all ages, races, classes, genders, sexual orientations, and other elements of diversity.”
It’s essential to consider ageist messages being sent, often unconsciously, through constructive dialog between different age groups. Research has shown that cultural age norms become stereotypes used against our future selves. The subject of internalized ageism was one of the four presentations in Kruger’s symposium.
“What surprised me most in the session was seeing that similar or compatible work is being done by a variety of people in a variety of contexts, but not in collaboration with one another. If we could find a way to unify our efforts to reduce ageism, rather than multiple people and organizations inventing their own wheel, so to speak, we could move the needle on ageism much faster.”
Kruger believes that organizations can leverage GSA research and students of gerontology to make their workplace cultures more inclusive. Institutions of higher learning in the U.S. are beginning to adopt the “Age-friendly University Model” based on ten age-friendly principles. Created by Dublin City University, the principles set out to identify the distinctive contributions that could be made by higher education institutions in addressing the needs of older adults.
“To address the issue of lack of familiarity with accurate portrayals and experiences of aging, we need to facilitate intergenerational interactions, dialogs, and engagement,” said Kruger. “We have seen wonderful outcomes in programs that partner daycares with nursing homes or traditionally-aged college students with older adults in service-learning projects.”
There are ways that organizations can leverage the research coming out of GSA to create a healthy, interactive multigenerational workplace. This includes connecting with gerontologists to vet job descriptions to ensure health providers are attracting the best-qualified candidates to provide the services, products, and care that older adults want and need. Additionally, organizations can work with GSA to ensure their benefits policies meet the broad range of needs employees and potential employees have for child and elder care and are inclusive of all ages and life stages in addition to other elements of diversity.
