{"id":8147,"date":"2020-08-24T15:12:25","date_gmt":"2020-08-24T19:12:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ceros.com\/inspire\/?p=8147"},"modified":"2021-04-20T15:58:34","modified_gmt":"2021-04-20T19:58:34","slug":"protect-yourself-older-designer-ageism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ceros.com\/inspire\/originals\/protect-yourself-older-designer-ageism\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Protect Yourself As an Older Designer"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>\n

Ageism is the one form of discrimination<\/a> that will impact everyone at some point\u2014whether you\u2019re a freelancer, a creative director, or a CEO. It\u2019s a universal and inevitable problem, and yet employers aren\u2019t very good at protecting their employees from it\u2014they\u2019re the primary culprits, in fact! Presently, incidences of age discrimination in the workplace<\/a> are actually increasing<\/em>, impacting designers as young as 40<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Considering the prevalence\u2014that one in four workers have experienced ageism\u2014it can be easy to feel like any measures you take to protect yourself in the workplace are hopeless. But there are a few benefits (if we can call them that) to rampant age discrimination: firstly, there\u2019s federal protection. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) forbids age discrimination against employees who are 40 or older. Some states even have laws that protect employees younger than 40 from age discrimination. And secondly, you\u2019re not alone. Your clients and your bosses may not yet be hip to the changing tides, but there are plenty of seasoned creatives out there who are flourishing as veteran designers, and want to help others do it, too. Here are some techniques for protecting yourself as an older designer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Own your age<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Take the advice of the brilliant and successful communications guru Cindy Gallop<\/a>: start talking about your age. The more transparent you are\u2014like Tina Essmaker was in this piece<\/a> for Adobe 99u\u2014the easier it will be to think about your age as an asset<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some creatives are finding success by doing just that. Take the gents of the ad agency Fallow Fields<\/a>, who tout themselves as \u201cOld ad guys who have had perfectly amazing careers.\u201d They put the fact that they\u2019re on the \u201cwrong\u201d side of 50 front and center\u2014and they give the ultimate reason for why that makes them so good at their jobs: \u201cWhen you\u2019re over 50, you just stop giving a fuck. That\u2019s it, zero fucks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think this kind of direct approach might work in your workplace or with your client roster, it\u2019s worth a try. Talking about our ages is the only way they\u2019ll become less taboo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Call it out when you see it<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The best way to bust stereotypes of older workers is to anticipate them, defy them, and call them out when you see them. There are a few assumptions about older worker\u2019s investment and capabilities that are perniciously common\u2014even if they\u2019ve been proven to be wrong<\/a>. Here\u2019s a short list of incorrect assumptions that are still commonly believed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n