Age Discrimination Persists Among African American, Hispanic and Asian American Workers 50-Plus

Age discrimination against older workers is a persistent problem. Its negative impact on getting and keeping jobs is detrimental to a worker’s financial security, retirement security, and ability to access benefits like health insurance.

Consistent with the first Work and Jobs Data Trend Series, this second wave of research shows that about two-thirds (64 percent) of workers age 50-plus have reported seeing or experiencing age discrimination in the workplace. These levels also remain high for African American/Black (AA/B) older workers (74 percent), Hispanic/Latino (H/L) older workers (62 percent), and Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) older workers (67 percent).

Of those who have seen or experienced it, nearly all (90 percent) in the general population believe age discrimination toward older workers is common, including 35 percent who believe it is very common. Similarly, 93 percent of AA/B, 86 percent of H/L, and 87 percent of AAPI older workers say that it is common.

In addition to asking about age discrimination in general, we explored more subtle forms of age discrimination that can hinder an older worker’s experience. Our study finds that subtle forms of age discrimination have been experienced by 60 percent of workers 50-plus. These include assuming older employees are less tech savvy (33 percent), assuming older employees are resistant to change (25 percent), not acknowledging older employees’ accomplishments or expertise (22 percent), making jokes about different generations (22 percent), and giving preference to younger employees for training (20 percent). And, of those who have experienced these subtler forms of age discrimination, 85 percent believe they are common, including 32 percent who say they are very common.

The most common forms of subtle age discrimination are the same for AA/B, H/L, and AAPI older workers as for the general population, but at higher rates. Subtle forms of age discrimination have been experienced by 72 percent of AA/B, 66 percent of H/L, and 73 percent of AAPI older workers.

As seen in the chart below, no workplace seems to be immune from subtle forms of age discrimination, as workers 50-plus have experienced them in job searches (30 percent), in work meetings (29 percent), at social events outside of work (24 percent), and with senior leadership on the job (18 percent). Ultimately, more than one in five (22 percent) say they feel like they are being pushed out of their job because of their age.

Similarly, AA/B, H/L, and AAPI older workers most commonly experience subtle forms of age discrimination in the job search process (39 percent AA/B, 43 percent H/L, 45 percent AAPI), followed by work meetings (25 percent AA/B, 26 percent H/L, 21 percent AAPI). They also experience it in one-on-one situations (28 percent AA/B, 35 percent H/L, 26 percent AAPI) and with senior leadership (21 percent AA/B, 21 percent H/L, 14 percent AAPI).

Notably, 38 percent of AA/B, 41 percent of H/L and 35 percent of AAPI respondents reported that they feel like they are being pushed out of their job because of their age either all or some of the time.

Methodology

General Population interviews were conducted in two waves: June 13–17, 2024 and July 18–24, 2024, among 2,002 U.S. adults age 50-plus in the Foresight 50+ Omnibus. This included 901 who were in the labor force (i.e., either working or looking for work).

Multicultural oversample interviews were conducted September 18–October 11, 2024, among 937 African American/Black, 508 Hispanic/Latino, and 502 Asian American and Pacific Islander U.S. adults 50-plus who were in the labor force, using NORC’s AmeriSpeak panel and nonprobability panel.

Both Foresight 50+ and AmeriSpeak panel are probability-based panels designed to be representative of the U.S. household population. Interviews were conducted online and via telephone. All data are weighted to the latest Current Population Survey (CPS) benchmarks developed by the U.S. Census Bureau and are balanced by gender, age, education, race/ethnicity, and region.

For more information about this survey, please contact Rebecca Perron at rperron@aarp.org. For media inquiries, contact External Relations at media@aarp.org.