Age-based discrimination in the workplace is a prevalent issue in the modern world – one that you’d assume might hit older people hardest in a youth-obsessed culture.

Research shows that more than 11% of adults in the UK say they feel that their age has been a discriminating factor in the workplace and more than 1 in 20 (5.7%) believe they've suffered age-based workplace discrimination.

But new research by McKinsey and Co has found that women under 30 are reporting ageism at the highest rate, meaning that age-based discrimination is a significant problem for young people too – particularly women. In the study, 49% of women under 30 reported experiencing ageism, compared to 38% of women over 60.

So while ageism remains an issue across the workplace, young women seem to be experiencing a higher proportion of it. Experts say that this affects their ability to enter more senior and leadership roles in comparison to men, referring to this issue as “the broken rung phenomenon”, describing this particular step as a barrier for young women as they try to ascend. 

Research around the theory also stated that “for every 100 men promoted to manager, only 86 women are promoted”, meaning that “as the level of responsibility increases, the representation of women decreases”. 

This inevitably feeds into imposter syndrome for young women in the workplace, the belief that they may not be able to progress higher in their career permeating their self-conscious thoughts. In fact, a KPMG study found that 75% of female executives across industries experienced imposter syndrome in their careers.

Career coach Charlotte Rooney explains that these issues are deep rooted in societal norms and expectations around women – particularly young women – in the modern workplace over the last 50 to 70 years. Seeing as young women are a relatively new addition to the workforce in that sense, we are still having to tear down the foundations of these patriarchal workplace norms, which may have also been internalised by female workers of all ages.

In terms of fixing a broken rung in the workplace, she recommends “asking women about the barriers they face [at work] and how to overcome them, to tailor solutions to the problem your organisation has, and encourage women to apply for promotions”. Further to this, she recommends “mentoring programmes within and outside the organisation, pairing younger women with more senior men and women” and specific training around the broken rung theory and what to do about it, which should be done in conjunction with blind hiring and monitoring promotions for bias.

The latter is particularly important, seeing as McKinsey and Co’s research found that when it comes to promotions, the way men and women’s capability can be perceived differently. It learned that young men are more likely to promoted on the basis of their potential, while when it comes to young women’s progression to higher roles, more focus is applied to what they’ve already accomplished. So, aside from the fact this shows a rather serious gender inequality, it puts young women at a disadvantage because their past accomplishments in the workplace may not look like they stack up, due to the relatively short time they’ve been working.

To counter this double standard in gender workplace perceptions, Charlotte recommends looking very closely at how potential is defined – not just for men, but for women too.

She endorses “finding ways to systematically measure potential that don’t rely on personal judgement, so that young women are not inadvertently penalised for not speaking up – such as aptitude testing”, as well as “consciously revisiting the criteria used to determine someone’s leadership potential, so the people making promotion decisions are not perpetuating a single model of leadership style”.

Psychotherapist and career coach Eloise Allexia adds that these misconceptions about gender and performance are formed in the early years of our lives, leading to young boys and men being encouraged to take more risks in their life and career, and young girls and women socialised to being more risk averse. She recommends “looking at biases that arise early in the educational system, encouraging both genders to adopt a combination of risk-aware and risk-taking behaviours”.

Eloise also recommends that workplaces formulate an “individualised approach that encourages women to put themselves forward for opportunities and promotions”, as well as ensuring there is “a level of flexibility in senior roles that enables women to take positions alongside other caring responsibilities”. Ensuring workplace culture is sending the right messages to women who are looking to progress is so important.

Of course, ageism in the workplace must be combatted for workers of all age groups. Coach Aisling Gray insists that there are a “number of steps organisations can take to combat it”, including diversifying your hiring methods, as well as acknowledging and navigating unconscious bias. 

“Review your hiring practices: how are you attracting new team members and are you intentionally reaching all demographics? For example, using TikTok to hire might help you attract people in their 20s and 30s but it's not as likely to reach people aged 50+,” she says. When it comes to unconscious bias, Aisling recommends we face up to it when it comes to age.

“Unconscious bias is nothing to be ashamed of – we all carry some,” she says. “Becoming aware of it if you're involved in hiring for your organisation is absolutely crucial to inclusive hiring practices. How does your 20-something-year-old high-achieving first-time manager feel about hiring a subordinate aged 60+?  How does your 50-something-year-old feel about hiring a graduate with no previous paid work experience?  

Above all, when combating ageism for young women specifically, and all other workers who may face this type of discrimination, it is crucial to talk about it, put a face on it, and acknowledge its existence in workplace culture. Only then can we begin to beat it and its effects.

“Name it in your organisation and call it out when it raises its dirty head,” Aisling says. “Ageism is a legally protected characteristic, just like sexism and racism, and should be dealt with in the same way.”