Best of Reader Comments: How to tackle ageism in IT

Short-sighted recruitment consultants are to blame for much of the ageism that plagues the IT industry, according to the comments of silicon.com readers.

According to a survey published earlier this week, half of IT workers interviewed said they had suffered age discrimination when applying for jobs. Two out five said their age had hindered promotion. And one in five admitted that age influenced their recruitment decisions.

The silicon.com story and leader article on the subject created a big response from readers.

IT consultant Sarah said: "I do think that employers are missing a trick with older IT professionals in the same way that companies like B&Q have realised the benefits of recruiting older staff.

"There are plenty of skilled IT folks out there over 40 who have the relavent skills. I do feel that the real problem to ageism in IT though is recruitment consultants who are very often a barrier to employers."

And one anonymous reader added: "I don't believe that it's the IT managers who won't hire older workers. I believe that many such applicants are filtered out by the recruitment firms - staffed by young, inexperienced, non-IT qualified hacks!"

Datacomms engineer Andrew Harcourt revealed that even workers in their thirties can be hit by ageism: "I was at an interview. The interviewer said 'I see you are 31. Don't you think that is a bit old for this job?'. I replied: 'If you think I am too old for this job, that is your problem, not mine' and walked out."

In response another reader, infrastructure architect Steve Berry, pointed out: "If ageism was a genuinely valid [reason] for obsoleting personnel then: (1) Fire Bill Gates (2) Fire Larry Ellison and (3) Fire Steve Jobs... The only reason ageism exists is as a 'filter/screener' for those to use when it's convenient for them to do so."

Reader Malcolm Wilson wrote that at one employment agency he was asked "How someone of my age (55) knows so much about IT in the creative industry. Before my departure I replied, 'Because I'm the same generation as Gates & Jobs, you clueless prat.' It seems that you are dead in the water at 25 these days. Whatever. I plan to work until my forehead hits the keyboard... "

But one reader blamed bosses and recruiters: "I think that it is very simple: The managers are young and they do not hire people that are older than themself - or within about two years of their age. I have seen this for the past 18 years. Also, the staff who handle recruitment (often agencies) are all young."

Teleworking may be the answer, said another reader: "Perhaps we need a home-worker broadband-based IT development environment so that age is not visible to manager, colleague or client, and only the work products count. This sounds a bit like offshore development but much simpler to set up."