The True Power of Oldness
How this moving video is bringing positivity to aging
An Australian video has a mission to defeat age discrimination with a simple message: “Oldness, it’s everywhere. And if you’re lucky, it can happen to you.”
This powerful video is part of the Australian Human Rights Commission’s The power of Oldness campaign, aiming to bring attention to ageism in the workplace and to bring positivity to growing old. (Be sure to watch it all the way to the end.)
As the video points out, not everyone sees the true value of "oldness." In Australia, people over age 55 are 47 percent more likely to lose their jobs than those who are younger.
Things aren’t so bright in the U.S. either.
Last year, 21,396 charges of age discrimination were filed to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
(MORE: There is No Cure for Aging — So Embrace It)
Sara Rix, Senior Strategic Policy Advisor for the AARP Public Policy Institute Economics Team, told Next Avenue that the unemployment rate for Americans 55+ has improved slightly recently — it dropped from 5.0 percent a year ago to 4.5 percent this July. But landing a job still takes people 55 and older nearly twice as long as for those who are younger.
Looks like we still have a ways to go before everyone in the U.S. appreciates the "true power of Oldness."
