In 2023, when the company where Geovani Barraza worked for 21 years announced layoffs, he had to wrestle with a fear that many experienced workers encounter: age discrimination. Barraza, then 51, interviewed for months without success before he signed up for AARP Foundation’s Back to Work 50+ program. With our support and coaching, he found a new job.

While older workers are more likely than younger ones to be unemployed for six months or more after a job loss, there are ways to sell their experience as a strength and stand out in a competitive market. AARP and its affiliates have resources, tools and tips to help. We’re also educating employers, championing stronger laws and fighting in the courts against age discrimination.

Here are some examples:

• Advocating on Capitol Hill. AARP recently endorsed the bipartisan Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act (POWADA) of 2025. The bill would restore protections for older workers that were lost after a 2009 Supreme Court ruling that made it more difficult to prove claims of illegal bias under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

• Working with employers. AARP is engaging with hundreds of employers nationwide to help them build strong multigenerational workplaces that value experienced workers. Outside of the workplace, we’re trying to make communities and industries better for older adults.

• Encouraging positive portrayals. AARP’s Movies for Grownups program champions films by and for people 50-plus, combating industry ageism and encouraging the production of movies and TV shows that resonate with older viewers.

• Fighting outdated stereotypes. We’re asking advertisers and marketers to ditch the old clichés about aging. The Disrupt Aging Collection, a collaboration between AARP and Getty Images, provides authentic photography that reflects how older people live today.

• Helping where you live. The AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities works with leaders and residents in nearly 1,000 localities nationwide to enable towns, cities, counties and states to be more livable and age-friendly for people of all ages, particularly older adults.

• Seeking better health options. We’re piloting a program at universities that aims to combat ageism by influencing future health care professionals, and we’re collaborating with hospitals and health systems on research and tools to improve the quality of care that older adults receive.

• Advancing new technology. Each year, the AgeTech Collaborative from AARP sorts through hundreds of new products and services designed to help make aging easier, then provides support to the most promising ones to help bring them to consumers faster. Start-ups receive experienced help to develop their products. This work seeks to deliver more modern, useful technology to older adults.

• Taking on illegal age bias in court. AARP Foundation’s lawyers are fighting workplace discrimination that violates federal protections for older workers, helping people get or retain jobs and, in some cases, back pay from being wrongfully terminated. “Outdated and discriminatory hiring practices are slamming the door on seasoned professionals. It’s not just unfair—it’s illegal,” says William Alvarado Rivera, senior vice president of litigation at AARP Foundation.

While we have made progress over the years, our fight against age bias is far from over. AARP will continue to push for change, educate others and support older adults in every aspect of life.