Originally Posted by
PRS Guitars
Pilotmunk,
It’s not ageism (I hate that term, more on that latter). First of all, your hypothetical doesn’t work, there are too many variable the employer is looking at for them to be the exact same. Second, do major airline apps even have a place to put your age? Third, bottom line the company is going to hire whoever they think is the best fit and will add the most value to their company. Why would they care about age? If they did, they’d probably favor older pilots who will be less than the top wage scale. Lastly, you’re basically advocating that pilots be sorted by age and interviewed from oldest to youngest, wouldn’t that in and of itself be “ageism”? Who’s to say older is better?
Ageism...I was deplaning as a non rev passenger. I had put my bag back about 10 rows and was waiting for pax to clear before retrieving it. A woman in her early twenties also had her bag back a few rows.
She asked the FA what to do. I said “you wait for an opening and then make your move, like the game Frogger, oh you’re too young to know that game”
When we made it back to our bags, she murmured under her breath at me that she didn’t appreciate my Ageist comment. I kept my composure and didn’t say anything, but have to admit I was a bit shocked. I mean it be one thing if I insinuated that she looked older, that might be rude, but WTF?
Thank you for the thoughtful response.
I do not advocate that candidates should be interviewed in the reverse age order. As anyone else here, I am certain, I believe that candidates should be invited to interview based on relevant qualifications first and foremost. Refusing an employment opportunity (which starts with an interview) to someone who is qualified because of the applicant's age is illegal. One can construe that the equal opportunity laws are violated if a younger applicant with lower qualifications than an older applicant is given an opportunity to interview while the older applicant is not (with all other factors being equal). It is irrelevant whether we appreciate this protection or not. It's the law. Ageism in employment is illegal.
Airline applications ask for the date of birth.
Employers absolutely can (and should) interview and hire only those who in their opinion "is the best fit and will add the most value to their company". As long as the equal opportunity laws are not violated.
I can see how my example may seem too simplistic. But that's the whole point. I want it to be as clear-cut as possible because I'm just looking for sound arguments why this may not be an example of age-based discrimination. So far I'm not seeing any. For instance, I am curious if anyone might think that an employment opportunity does not start with an interview but instead is initiated at the point of application submission. I don't know.
I guess if I am really curious I should be asking lawyers but I'm not THAT curious.