Ageism and discrimination against the elderly: Discrimination against the elderly in the labor market

U ovom radu govori se o diskriminaciji starijih osoba na tržištu rada i načinima suzbijanja takve diskriminacije. Razjašnjavaju se pojmovi diskriminacija, područja u kojima je zabranjena i koncept ageizma. Sam položaj starijih radnika mijenjao kroz povijest i usko je povezan s demografskim trendovima i promjenama na tržištu rada. Svjetska gospodarska kriza i ubrzan razvoj tehnologija uvelike su utjecali na starije radnike te ih polagano istisnuli s tržišta rada. Također, percepcija javnosti o starijim radnicima je negativna. Prevladavaju stereotipi da su stariji radnici spori, slabijeg zdravlja te nespremni za rad s novim tehnologijama što rezultira diskriminacijom pri samom zapošljavanju. U radu se ističu smjernice za suzbijanje ove vrste diskriminacije, a one prvenstveno obuhvaćaju educiranje i informiranje javnosti i poslodavaca radi promjene negativnih stereotipa o starijim radnicima, osposobljavanje starijih radnika radi usvajanja novih vještina u skladu s potrebama poslodavaca te njihovo aktivno uključivanje u život zajednice. U Republici Hrvatskoj potrebno je više jačati svijest o diskriminaciji starijih osoba te je nužno da nadležna tijela surađuju međusobno te koriste dobru praksu drugih zemalja Europske unije u bavljanju i rješavanju problema diskriminacije.This paper is discussing discrimination against older people in the labor market and ways to deal with such discrimination. Definitions of discrimination, areas where prohibited and the concept of ageism are clarified throughout the paper. The position of older workers through history changes and it is closely related with demographic trends and changes in the labor market. The global economic crisis and the rapid development of technology significantly influence older workers and they are slowly pushed out of the labor market. Also, the public perception of older workers is negative. The prevailing stereotypes of older workers are that they are slow, weaker health and unwilling to work with new technologies which result in discrimination in the hiring process. This paper emphasizes guidelines for dealing with this kind of discrimination and they primarily include educating and informing the public and employers to change negative stereotypes about older workers, training for older workers to acquire new skills to meet the needs of employers and their active involvement in community life. In Croatia, it is necessary to intensify awareness of discrimination against older people and it is essential that the authorities cooperate mutually and use good practices of other countries of the European Union in addressing emerging and solving discrimination problem