JAKARTA - A job posting for software developers stating "we hire older people" has sparked renewed attention to age in the tech industry.
"Unlike Silicon Valley, we don't discriminate by age," reads a job listing for senior software developers by Chicago-based startup RelevantDB. "Experience is important. We hire older people. (and young people too.)"
Fast Company was the first to report the ad. The job posting has gone viral on Hacker News, a forum focused on computer science and entrepreneurship, and sparked a wider conversation about ageism in the tech industry.
"I've come to the point that I'm going to create an alternative resume that lists only less than 8 years of experience instead of 30+, and uses a very old photo of myself on social media," one user commented.
Others shared similar experiences, explaining how they improved their resumes and appearance to look younger during the interview process--if they made it that far.
Ageism is well documented in the tech industry. A recent study by the University of Gothenburg found that technology workers over the age of 35 are considered old by industry, while younger workers are considered to be up to around 30 years old.
One study found that workers over the age of 35 were expected to be "less interested in technology and more interested in management," creating a stigma that older workers would not be "up to date with the latest technology and its potential."
The study also states that there is also a perception that older people have a strong focus on family life outside of work, making them less valuable to employers who want their workers to be available around the clock.
Ageism was the subject of 226 formal complaints filed against Silicon Valley's biggest tech companies between 2008 and 2015, and the problem persists, according to data from Bloomberg.
The average tech worker is 38 years old, compared to 43 for non-tech workers, according to analytics firm Visier.
"I've been trying to interview developer jobs for the past year, Cleveland wrote on Hacker News. Nowhere despite 40 years of experience. Getting very, very tired of the industry's attitude towards people like me," said Chris Cleveland, who posted advert for RelevantDB, almost 60 years old.
After being turned down from a developer position at Facebook earlier this year, Cleveland started RelevantDB and believes the company "will make more money than any job at Facebook."
According to a study from AARP, Ageism is also having a negative impact on the wider economy, according to the data. The loss of economic activity from older Americans unable to find work, change careers, or get promotions due to age discrimination cost the US economy $850 billion in lost gross domestic product in 2018.
According to data from the Census Bureau, the population of older Americans is projected to grow faster than the population as a whole. It is estimated that about 36% of the US population is 50 years or older by 2020, and that share is projected to grow to about 40% by 2050.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans age 55 and over who are employed or actively looking for work have increased significantly since the 1990s. As of March 2021, there are approximately 37 million older Americans in the workforce.
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