Dr Georgia Bowers Guildford School of Acting, University of Surrey and member of the Ageism SIG Steering Group

From the moment of conception, we start to age, yet British culture often treats growing older as something to resist or hide. Ageism, described by Robert Butler* as a “distaste for growing old, disease, disability, and fear of powerlessness,” permeates everyday life: from children’s stories casting older women as wicked witches, to birthday cards mocking age, and beauty campaigns promising to “reverse” time. The World Health Organisation reports that one in two people globally hold ageist attitudes, yet this remains one of society’s most acceptable prejudices.

My research explores how theatre can expose and challenge ageism by creating space for older adults to share their lived experiences. Through storytelling, improvisation, and character work, participants reveal the subtle ways ageism and ageist-induced shame shape their daily lives — from patronising “elderspeak” to the pressure to appear forever youthful. What I have discovered is that regular participation in theatre groups builds shame resilience by fostering pride, joy and laughter, connection, and a sense of belonging.

As our population ages, confronting ageism is not just desirable — it is urgent. By rethinking language, policy, and representation, and by embracing creative practices like theatre, we can begin to rewrite the established stories we tell about ageing and ultimately, about ourselves.

*Butler R. N. (1969). Age-ism: another form of bigotry. The Gerontologist, 9(4), 243–246. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/9.4_part_1.243

Email: g.bowers@gsa.surrey.ac.uk

Website: https://georgiabowers.co.uk

University of Surrey Profile: https://www.surrey.ac.uk/people/georgia-bowers

Dr Marianne Markowski, Institute for Lifecourse Development, University of Greenwich

My interest in intergenerational engagement began during my PhD journey. Although I did not directly research ageism, I became increasingly aware of the decline in public spaces where older and younger people meaningfully interact. From early childhood, we are placed in age-segregated institutions – nurseries, primary, and secondary schools. Families once provided intergenerational contact, but the nuclear family – with grandparents nearby – is no longer the norm in many Western societies. This raises important questions: Where do younger and older adults meet? Where are different generations visible to one another? Perhaps in churches, libraries, shopping centres, or museums. Yet even in these settings, genuine opportunities for dialogue and shared understanding are not guaranteed.

As part of my research, I developed the Teletalker – an online video presence system enabling two people in different locations to talk effortlessly, with no digital skills required. I used it to connect a university atrium with an Age UK day centre, opening a live window between two often-separated worlds. Students and older adults could interact casually – many for the first time.

The experience revealed something powerful: to challenge ageism, we must go beyond raising awareness. We need to build intentional spaces that encourage connection, spark empathy, and support lasting intergenerational exchange.

Marianne can be contacted at a.m.markowski@greenwich.ac.uk.

References

Markowski, M (2013). Making Online Face-to-Face Interaction Easier for Older People with Constructive Design Research, xCoAx conference, 27-28th June 2023, Bergamo, Italy

Markowski, M. (2020). The Teletalker–A Design Researcher’s Tool to Explore Intergenerational Online Video Connectivity in-the-Wild. Societies, 10(1), 25.

Rhian Bowen-Davies, Older People’s Commissioner for Wales

In an increasingly digital world, older people find themselves at growing risk of facing digital ageism – stereotyping, prejudice and disadvantage based on age within digital systems – which creates significant issues and barriers that can prevent older people accessing the services and support they need.

This issue is examined in my latest report – Exploring digital ageism – published on 29 October.

The report highlights how poorly designed platforms, which often assume digital literacy or are designed with younger people in mind, create barriers to everything from health and social care, lifelong learning, social connection and leisure.

Older workers also face unfair challenges, including advertising and recruitment systems which replicate ageist biases, and workplace cultures that often stereotype and exclude older people.

In addition, the report covers the impact of the rapid growth of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in many areas of our lives and the ways in which algorithms frequently embed age-related bias and can restrict people’s rights to privacy, dignity and self-determination.

As part of the action I am calling for, I want to see digital services and products being co-designed with older people and for all publicly commissioned systems to meet age-inclusive accessibility standards.

Tackling digital ageism is essential to ensure that older people’s rights, voices and experiences are at the heart of our digital future, and I am committed to working with partners across Wales and beyond to make this happen.

Sayani Das Postdoctoral fellow, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel

Ageism and ableism often shape how older adults experience the world, but their intersection has rarely been explored in low- and middle-income contexts. Using data from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India, this study examined age- and disability-based discrimination among more than 30,000 older adults aged 60 years and above. Findings reveal that 10.3% experienced ageism, 0.5% ableism, and 0.4% both. Men were more likely to report ableism and intersectional discrimination, while women experienced slightly higher ageism.

Increasing age and lower educational attainment were associated with ageism, whereas unemployment was strongly linked with ableism and intersectional discrimination, underscoring how social and economic disadvantages amplify vulnerability. Poor health further increased susceptibility to both forms of discrimination.

These patterns highlight that discrimination in later life is shaped by overlapping social and health inequalities rather than single identities. Recognising these intersections is vital for developing inclusive ageing and disability policies that promote dignity, equality, and participation for all older adults in a rapidly ageing India.

Click here to read the article.

Nena Georgantzi, Human Rights Manager

AGE Platform Europe, the largest EU network of organisations of older persons marking the 2025 International Day of Older Persons, launched a proposal for a robust EU Action Plan to Combat Ageism, grounded in human rights, equality and intergenerational solidarity. The proposal puts forward nine flagship initiatives aimed at abolishing ageism and embedding age equality across all EU policies.

The draft emphasizes a life-course, intersectional approach that accounts for the diversity of older persons and addresses how ageism intersects with other forms of discrimination. AGE envisions the plan as a foundation for a more comprehensive EU Strategy on Intergenerational Fairness.

Visit our website for more information or email us.

Thea Brain, Policy Advisor, Care Forum Wales & Wales Care Awards

Care Forum Wales (CFW) is the professional representative association for some four hundred third and private sector providers of regulated social care services in Wales – care homes, domiciliary care and supported living.

We update members on important sector information; provide resources, training and peer support to deliver highest quality services; promote best practice and dignity for people receiving care; and we host the annual Wales Care Awards celebrating excellence within the sector.

We provide a collective voice for members with policymakers and commissioners at national, regional and local levels to ensure that they can meet the rights, needs and outcomes that Welsh citizens deserve. This means campaigning for the funding of older people’s care to accurately reflect their needs and value to society wherever they live in Wales.  We want older people living in care homes to be recognised as members of the local community with a voice in local consultations. We want to see commissioning of home care move away from a transactional basis to an outcome’s basis with a stronger focus on individual wellbeing.

Care Forum Wales actively combats ageism by placing the wellbeing of people receiving care at the heart of our work. We ensure older people’s priorities are reflected in funding, policy, and local decision-making, and we work closely with the Older People’s Commissioner, the Cross-Party Group on Older People and Ageing and many other groups to champion their voices.

Find out more by visiting our website.

Laura Brown, Group Secretary

The BSG Care Homes Research Special Interest Group aims to strengthen research, policy, and practice in all areas of care homes research, including those related to ageism, attitudes, and stereotypes of care homes.

We run regular online webinars that are free to attend, and we send monthly newsletters about events, resources, and opportunities that may be of interest to our members. We also invite members to share their thoughts and experiences via our online blog.

The group is free to join, and open to anyone with an interest in care homes research, including researchers and postgraduate students, as well as those working within or around the care home sector.

To join the group, please email us at: BSGcarehomesSIG@britishgerontology.org.

You can also follow us on BlueSky @bsgcarehomes.bsky.social and LinkedIn.

Ann Marie Little

The Vale 50+ Strategy Forum is a voice for older people in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales. We are funded and supported by the Vale of Glamorgan Council and Age Friendly Vale.

We have over three hundred Forum members & an Executive Board of sixteen members that looks after the day to day running of the Forum, our many focus groups and host 3 Events a year.

We wanted to share our exciting news with you.

It’s in our constitution that we ‘aid the identification & eradication of age discrimination’ so, to reach out to the 50+ who can’t access the internet or can’t get out of the house, they can now stay up-to-date with forum news and interviews by listening to our monthly radio show on Bro Radio.

The show is every second Tuesday of the month at 7pm on Bro Radio 98.1-106.1fm/DAB+ or online.

To celebrate October 1st Older Peoples Day, Mark and Martyn held a Q&A session with Wales’ Older Peoples Commissioner Rhian Bowen-Davies. We are looking forward to organising many more interviews in the months to come from different organisations and forums, interested? It would be lovely if any members would like to come ‘on air’ to talk about their work on ageism.

Contact Details

Email: OPF@valeofglamorgn.gov.uk

Tel: 01446 700111

Web: www.vale50plus.org

Andrea Ma, Policy Officer, Age Scotland

Despite widespread recognition of ageism, it remains under-addressed in workplace equality agendas. In Scotland, over a third of workers aged 50+ report experiencing age bias, affecting recruitment, progression, and retention. With a workforce that is both ageing and increasingly multigenerational, addressing ageism in employment is critical.

Through our Age Inclusive Workplaces programme, Age Scotland delivers flexible, expert-led training that helps employers challenge stereotypes and build supportive, multigenerational teams. Sessions range from practical topics like Age Friendly Customer Service to specialist support such as Menopause at Work, alongside wider training for managers and staff on leadership, bias, wellbeing, and future planning. We offer all-staff webinars, line manager training, and can tailor our sessions to organisational need.

Our approach is grounded in Scottish workforce research and practice, and the principles are relevant across sectors: valuing experience, recognising diversity in later life, and ensuring that age is never a barrier to opportunity.

Further details on the Age Inclusive Workplaces programme are available on our website or by emailing us.

Sarah Wilkinson Evidence Manager Centre for Ageing Better

Our recently updated Society chapter in State of Ageing 2025 provides data on how older people’s direct experience of ageism varies by gender, with more than a third of women aged over fifty having been patronised because of their age compared to less than a quarter of men.

The chapter also highlights how age intersects with other characteristics resulting in unequal experiences of ageing in place. While older people tend to be more positive than younger people about their local communities, our new analysis of Community Life Survey data finds this varies considerably not only according to where older people live but also by ethnicity, disability status and sexual orientation.

For the first time this survey asked participants for reasons for their answers to some questions, providing some fascinating insights. One example is that even though people in the 65–74-year-old age group are most likely to volunteer, a quarter of people aged 65 and over who don’t volunteer regularly say one reason is that they’re not the right age, possibly indicating that self-ageist attitudes are a factor.

We have published the data tables from our analysis and would be interested in any feedback.