Tech Needs More Age Diversity

Despite frequent public commitments to diversity, the tech industry isn’t kind to those over age 35.

What’s more, many don’t see a problem with that. Remember when Mark Zuckerberg famously claimed that “young people are just smarter”?

But, companies deprive themselves of the benefit of experience when they undervalue hiring and retaining workers who have made it passed their 20s.

Cascade Insights was recently asked to present our research on ageism by industry. During our study, we analyzed 9.45 million LinkedIn profiles. Our analysis revealed that employees over the age of 35 are in the minority in the tech industry.

Our talk focused on our methodology, data, and findings about the rampant ageism in tech. Here, we would like to provide some more context for why age discrimination is depriving the industry of a plethora of talented workers and unduly undervaluing some of the sharpest minds in tech.

There is nothing that should limit those over 35 from having a job in tech. In fact, tech is worse off without them.

(We also presented our findings on the gender gap in tech. Check out our defense of women in tech reading list here.)

Age discrimination is detrimental to valuable members of the workforce.

“Report: Ageism in the Tech Industry.” Indeed.
“Why Ageism Never Gets Old.” The New Yorker.
“How the tech industry’s youth cult is driving older workers to plastic surgery.” The Guardian.
“Ageism is forcing many to look outside Silicon Valley, but tech hubs offer little respite.” USA Today.
“Tech companies have a Baby Boomer problem.” Business Insider.

Companies should not discount the benefit of experience when hiring, acquiring, & funding.

“The Brutal Ageism of Tech.” The New Republic.
“How Do We Combat Ageism? By Valuing Wisdom as Much as Youth.” Harvard Business Review.
“Age and Great Invention.” The National Bureau of Economic Research.

Millennials will not drag down the average age of the U.S. worker. In fact, it’s going to get grayer out there.

“Labor Force Projections to 2024.” Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“Older Workers Labor Force Trends and Career Options.” Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“Who Makes Up the Workforce by Year, and Age, 1962 to 2015 – A Calculator.” DQYDJ.

Diversity benefits companies by making them more likely to innovate and raise profits.

“How and Where Diversity Drives Financial Performance.” Harvard Business Review.
“Several New Studies Tie Diversity to Innovation, Profitability.” Gartner.
“Why diversity matters.” McKinsey & Company.
“Why Diverse Teams Are Smarter.” Harvard Business Review.
“How and Where Diversity Drives Financial Performance.” Harvard Business Review.

Older workers are more loyal, reducing turnover costs.

“Older Workers More Loyal to Employers.” Inc.
“The New Economic Benefits of Older Workers.” MIT Sloan Management Review.

How can we improve age diversity in tech? Here are some ideas.

“Surviving As An Old In The Tech World.” Wired.
“How to solve the ageism problem in the tech sector.” Silicon Republic.
“How Employers Can Avoid Age Discrimination.” Business News Daily.

For all of the above reasons, ageism in tech cannot simply be written off as older workers being less capable than their younger colleagues.

This blog post is brought to you by Cascade Insights. With B2B focused market research and marketing services, Cascade Insights helps companies seize opportunities in the B2B technology sector.