Sir, - We welcome the recent judgment of the Office of Equality Investigations on age discrimination in recruitment advertising. We do so, not so much for the sanction imposed on an individual employer, but because of the opportunity it provides to increase public awareness of the depth of our prejudices against older people - and, when we are talking of recruitment, the "older people" concerned can be from 35 years on.
Employers and advertising copywriters are not the only culprits. To some extent we're all both guilty and victims of ageism. I could not disagree more with Kevin Myers who confuses the issue (February 14th) by suggesting that equality is about expecting the same skills from a gardener as a gynaecologist. This is wilfully to misunderstand. Age equality is about having a society where talent and suitability alone are the criteria for getting a job and where people are not excluded because of some unquestioned prejudice on grounds of their age. It is also about a world where we remain visible as we age - yes, even as aircraft cabin crew (if that's what we choose). Why not?
Unlike other "isms", such as racism or sexism, we're all going to be affected by ageism (unless we exit life prematurely) and, ironically, it is probably this very fact that makes so many of us blind to it. We all have something to gain by facing up to age discrimination and the Equality Authority is to be congratulated, not mocked, for doing so. - Yours, etc.,
Catherine Rose, Chief executive Officer, Age & Opportunity, Griffith Avenue, Dublin 9.