What caught our eye - three key stories (week 7, 2024)
Ageism in the workplace; what to do with our natural gas networks?; closer to using EVs to power the grid?
Here are three stories that we found particularly interesting this week and why. We also give our lateral thought on each one.
Read in full by clicking on the link below.
'What caught our eye' like all of our blogs are free to read. You just need to register.
Please forward to friends, family and colleagues if you think they might find our work of value.
When DEI isn't inclusive - discrimination against the 50 plus workforce
As individuals north of 50 years old, a LinkedIn post from the founder of recruitment service the Cleeve Partnership, Natasha Cleeve really caught our eye.
Natasha highlighted that there is discrimination against the 50+ workforce even as a skills shortage persists.
According to a WHO/UN report ageism is costing the global economy billions of dollars. A 2020 US study estimated excess annual costs of US$63 billion for the eight most expensive health conditions for those aged 60+. An Australian study suggested that if just 5% more people aged 55+ were employed there would be a positive impact of AUD$48 billion to the Australian economy annually.
Age discrimination in the workplace is one of the areas where individuals should have protection by the Equality Act 2010, however a study by Age Without Limits found that 37% of workers aged 51 to 70 felt badly treated in the workplace over the past year. One third of workers aged over 50 believe they have been turned down for a job because of their age whilst 20% of the employers surveyed believed that age discrimination takes place in their organisation.
As Natasha puts it, "the DEI agenda was introduced to right historical discrimination and has created lasting opportunity for generations of people whom without it, would have been excluded from the type of roles and opportunities we now take for granted. [That's] a good thing until it starts to exclude and discriminate - and it is, against older workers."
You can read Natasha's post here 👇🏾
Natasha Cleeve