1. Prof. Liat Ayalon
Bar Ilan University
Generations working together annual
conference
March, 2022
AGEISM, Intergenerational
Tension and Solidarity:
Future directions to
a world for all ages

2. What is “Ageism”?
Why is Ageism so Pervasive
and Prevalent?
Manifestations &
Consequences of Ageism
Overcoming the challenges
TODAY’S PRESENTATION
Speak your
mind even if
your voice
shakes
1
2
3
4

3. PREJUDICE
DISCRIMINATION
STEREOTYPES

4. Kind, warm,
wise
Sorry for
this
person,
repelled
Attracted,
interested
Hire for a job
Attracted,
interested
Do not sit
next to this
person in a
restaurant
Incompetent,
weak, a
burden to
society

5. When it comes to
young people:
• Adultism- the power the older generation
has over the younger generation (Flasher,
1978)
• Youthism- discrimination against young
people

6. THE LITTLE BOY AND THE OLD MAN
by Shel Silverstein
Said the little boy, "Sometimes I drop my spoon."
Said the old man, "I do that too."
The little boy whispered, "I wet my pants."
"I do that too," laughed the little old man.
Said the little boy, "I often cry."
The old man nodded, "So do I."
"But worst of all," said the boy, "it seems
Grown-ups don't pay attention to me."
And he felt the warmth of a wrinkled old hand.
"I know what you mean," said the little old man.

7. WHY AGEISM?
3,111
1,185
285
17.3%
24.9%
34.5%
Nelson, 2005 Ayalon, 2013

8. 60%
Older adults
are not respected
More likely to
report lack of
respect in higher
income countries
WHO, 2016
WORLD VALUE SURVEY (N=57; 83,034)

9. THE MANIFESTATION OF AGEISM
The legal-judicial system
The spatial environment
The health care system
The workforce
The media
The Art
Internalized age stereotypes

10. OLD AGE AS A BURDEN
The
dependency
ratio
Premature
death
Ageing as
a Tsunami

11. • Young people more than old people report exposure to age-
based discrimination (Ayalon & Gum, 2011; Ayalon, 2013)
• Young people report exposure to discrimination primarily in
the workforce (Horohota, Chasteen, & Crumley-Banyon, 2018)
• At times of economic crisis, young people suffer high levels of
unemployment(Apascariteli, Susaeta, Suarez, Guttierrez-
Martinez, Idrovo, & Ramon, 2015)
CHALLENGES A DIVIDE BETWEEN YOUNG AND OLD

13. CLIMATE CHANGE
Ayalon et al., 2021; Ayalon et al., 2022
A source of intergenerational tension, but also
has the potential for solidarity
•Some blame that older people have not done enough
•Younger people are likely to experience the consequences
•Older people are most susceptible
•Younger people are deprived of their voice
The neglect of older people from climate change
measures

14. (Riley & Riley, 1994)
Chronological age
Education Work and family Retirement
ETIOLOGY: MESO

15. Ben-Noon & Ayalon, 2017,
The Gerontologist

16. YOUNG PEOPLE AND
INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS
• Younger adults tend to interact with same age
peers (Cunha, 2014)
• Younger people felt being patronized in
interpersonal relations with older adults (Giles &
Williams, 1994)

19. VIGNETTE
Gweirtz-Meydan & Ayalon, 2016

20. Diagnosis
Prognosis
4.29
4.67
2.57
1.87
Erectile
dysfunction
(t=-4.18***)
Performance anxiety
(t=-4.18***)
3.93
4.14
(t=2.54**)
DIAGNOSIS AND PROGNOSIS Young
Old

21. DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT
3.45
3.96
2.29
1.73
2.00
1.18
3.9
3.73
PDE5i (Viagra etc.)
(t= -6.44***)
Testosterone
treatment
(t= -7.42***)
Urologist
(t= -3.82***)
Sexual therapy
(t=2.95***)
Young
Old

22. CASE VIGNETTE

23. IS THIS BEHAVIOR VIOLENT?
Yechezkel & Ayalon, 2012
Violent
Not violent
A young woman
An old woman
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Yet more likely to choose a legal
intervention for the older woman

24. Discrimination aimed at older
people, negative age stereotypes,
negative self-perceptions of aging
People>60, 8
most prominent health conditions
1-year cost of ageism
$63 billion
The financial costs of ageism
(Levy et al., 2018)

25. UNDER 40
WELCOME
OVER 40
DO NOT ENTER

26. SOURCES OF TENSION BETWEEN THE GENERATIONS
especially at times of scarce resources
(North & Fiske, 2013; 2016)
Succession
Step aside and pass
along
Consumption
Don’t be
a passive burden
Symbolic Identity
Act your own
old age

27. The gallery is looking for young emerging artists only. Fresh, innovative,
interesting works and new ideas. Artists between ages 24 to 34.”

28. Louise Bourgeois
reached success
at 70-80
Bill Traylor
started painting
at his 80’s
Carmen Herrera
sold her first painting
at 89
Lubaina Himid MBE
at the age of 56
Turner prize announced that from 2017 on,
artists over 50 will also be eligible for the prize

29. GETTING OLDER?
Nicole Kidman Susan Sarandon Goldie Hawn
Michael Douglas Robert De Niro Robert Redford

30. Think of a witch…

31. AN OLDER PERSON AND A YOUNGER PERSON
Donorfio, L.M. (1991), Using Drawings to explore children’s attitudes toward the elderly, Annual Gerontological Society conference, NY
KIDS PAINT
Boy 3rd grade
Girl 3rd grade
Girl 3rd grade
Girl 5th grade

32. BURDEN
SLOW
USELESS
…not of economic value,
who no longer
contribute,and therefore
are of no value.
That seems to be how
people are being
measured now…
You are a bit of a
nuisance to
everyone. You get
that attitude a lot….
….They were slow and
got in my way…They
couldn't tell a story
straight…
OLDER ADULTS SAY ABOUT THEMSELVES
(Minichielo, V., Browne, J., & Kendig, H. 2000. Perceptions and consequences of ageism: Views of older people. Ageing and Society 20:253-278)

33. CHALLENGE I AGEISM? WHAT?
Ageisimo?
Anzianisimo? ‫גילנות‬
?
Ηλικιακός
ρατσισμός?
Eidžizmas?
Idaismo?
Edadismo?
Varstism?
Wiekizm?

34. A systematic review of 29,664 records,
identified 106 records for extraction→ 11 scales
Ayalon, Dolberg, Mikulionienė, Perek-Białas, Rapolienė, Stypińska, Willińska, de la Fuente-
Núñez, under revision, Ageing Research Reviews
CHALLENGE II ASSESSING AGEISM?
One scale met minimum psychometric criteria,
but addressed only explicit stereotypes
Questions the validity of research on the topic

35. CHALLENGE III
NO AGREED UPON MACRO-LEVEL
INDICATOR OF AGE INEQUALITY
Active Ageing Index
the potential for
active and healthy
ageing
(Zaidi et al., 2013)
Age Watch Index
how well the ageing
population fairs
(Help Age International, 2015)
Relative age
inequality index
young versus old people
in society
(Ayalon & Rothermund, 2017)

36. CHALLENGE V HOW TO COMBAT AGEISM?
Awareness may not lead to action
and may even lead to backlash

37. WHAT SHOULD WE DO NEXT?
Interventions that address ageism work
• Education
• Intergenerational contact
(Burnes et al., 2018, AM. J. Public Health)

38. Age is just a
number

39. Acknowledge high heterogeneity in old age
Nurture ageing throughout the lifespan
WHAT SHOULD WE DO NEXT?

40. WHAT SHOULD WE DO NEXT?
The way we talk
about old & young
age
makes a difference

41. Laws and regulations
should explicitly
prohibit age
discrimination
WHAT SHOULD WE DO NEXT?

42. To the
individual
• First, second, third chance
• Time, money?, wisdom, experience
• Grandchildren
• Repair relations and lost opportunities
• Exchange of….
• Come to terms with…
WHAT SHOULD WE DO NEXT?
AGEING AS AN
OPPORTUNITY

43. WARNING Jenny Joseph
When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat that doesn't go, and doesn't suit me,
And I shall spend my pension
on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals,
and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I am tired,
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm
bells,
And run my stick along the public railings,
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other people's gardens,
And learn to spit
“
“

44. • Employment and productivity
• Wisdom and experience
• Tradition and continuity
• Exchanges-quantified and non-quantified
• Intergenerational solidarity
WHAT SHOULD WE DO NEXT?
AGEING AS AN
OPPORTUNITY
To society at
large

45. Closing the gap
Limited research on discrimination
towards younger people
(de la Fuente-Nunez et al., 2021)

46. Change the way we feel,
think and act towards age
and ageing.
GOALS
A world for all ages
VISION
W.H.O CAMPAIGN TO COMBAT AGEISM

47. THANK YOU
CONTACT ME: liatayalon.com
liat.ayalon@biu.ac.il