You will hear a discussion between two managers, Kathy and Peter, who are talking about the issue of age discrimination. For eac

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Woman: Nowadays in society, old people are often running into different problems, among which age discrimination is becoming more and more evident. But actually the elderly may be just as capable as the young. Since age is not necessarily an indication of inferior ability or potential, treating a person less favourably purely on the basis of his age is just as unreasonable and unfair as doing so on the basis of his race or religion.
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Man: In theory hiring should be based on ability. In reality certain abilities may be hard to truly test, so employers use age as a standard in the same way that they use sports as an indication of one’s "ability to work in the team".
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Man: ... We have to admit that age is often an indicator of qualities which may be important for certain jobs, for instance, air traffic controllers and surgeons must have vary high levels of fitness and concentration.
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Woman: You are right. But old people have their own advantages, so they should be valued as greatly as the young. Age discrimination, as we can see, reduces productivity because job and advancement opportunities are inefficiently matched to workers and talent is wasted. The Cabinet Office study of older workers estimated that low employment among older people reduces the GDP by 16 billion per annum. Higher participation rates among older workers have led to better matching of jobs to people, increased employment rates, and enhanced competition among workers that will stimulate the labour market in the long run. The belief that the economy has only a limited number of jobs, if the older remain in the labour market they will deny job opportunities to younger people or push down wages, is a fallacy.
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Man: Well, actually laws against age discrimination may merely lead to old people working more, instead of more old people working. Research on age discrimination laws in the U. S. shows that the "increase in employment rates" of older workers is due mostly to them staying on in jobs for longer, rather than an increase in rates of hiring among older workers. What is worse, the increased supply of older workers may, at least in the short term, generate market pressures for wages to fall so that all existing older workers suffer.
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Woman: And I also know that having fewer older workers also increases the amount the government needs to spend on unemployment and other benefits, and decreases tax revenues. This strain on public resources is increasingly critical in many developed countries with their ageing populations.
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Man: Well, the government spends less on health and other benefits only because the employer is now paying for them. The cost and the resource strain do not disappear— it is simply transferred from the government to the employers.
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Woman: Age discrimination is the most prevalent form of discrimination in the workforce today. Laws can help to change these prejudiced attitudes if it operates in conjunction with other policies to promote equal right and educate employers and workers about their obligations and rights. By protecting a group in society that is often left out and less advantaged, we are also raising the level of equality in society. Man: However, in Australia, Canada and the U.S. , where anti-discrimination laws have long been in place, there is no clear evidence so far of any significant shift in the attitude of employers and society to older workers. In fact, there is some evidence that employers may be less likely to hire older workers, and younger co-worker may be more resentful, because employers are not allowed to set legal retirement ages.
Woman: Nowadays in society, old people are often running into different problems, among which age discrimination is becoming more and more evident. But actually the elderly may be just as capable as the young. Since age is not necessarily an indication of inferior ability or potential, treating a person less favourably purely on the basis of his age is just as unreasonable and unfair as doing so on the basis of his race or religion.
Man: In theory hiring should be based on ability. In reality certain abilities may be hard to truly test, so employers use age as a standard in the same way that they use sports as an indication of one’s "ability to work in the team". We have to admit that age is often an indicator of qualities which may be important for certain jobs, for instance, air traffic controllers and surgeons must have vary high levels of fitness and concentration.
Woman: You are right. But old people have their own advantages, so they should be valued as greatly as the young. Age discrimination, as we can see, reduces productivity because job and advancement opportunities are inefficiently matched to workers and talent is wasted. The Cabinet Office study of older workers estimated that low employment among older people reduces the GDP by 16 billion per annum. Higher participation rates among older workers have led to better matching of jobs to people, increased employment rates, and enhanced competition among workers that will stimulate the labour market in the long run. The belief that the economy has only a limited number of jobs, if the older remain in the labour market they will deny job opportunities to younger people or push down wages, is a fallacy.
Man: Well, actually laws against age discrimination may merely lead to old people working more, instead of more old people working. Research on age discrimination laws in the U. S. shows that the "increase in employment rates" of older workers is due mostly to them staying on in jobs for longer, rather than an increase in rates of hiring among older workers. What is worse, the increased supply of older workers may, at least in the short term, generate market pressures for wages to fall so that all existing older workers suffer.
Woman: And I also know that having fewer older workers also increases the amount the government needs to spend on unemployment and other benefits, and decreases tax revenues. This strain on public resources is increasingly critical in many developed countries with their ageing populations.
Man: Well, the government spends less on health and other benefits only because the employer is now paying for them. The cost and the resource strain do not disappear—it is simply transferred from the government to the employers.
Woman: Age discrimination is the most prevalent form of discrimination in the workforce today. Laws can help to change these prejudiced attitudes if it operates in conjunction with other policies to promote equal right and educate employers and workers about their obligations and rights. By protecting a group in society that is often left out and less advantaged, we are also raising the level of equality in society.
Man: However, in Australia, Canada and the U.S. , where anti-discrimination laws have long been in place, there is no clear evidence so far of any significant shift in the attitude of employers and society to older workers. In fact, there is some evidence that employers may be less likely to hire older workers, and younger co-worker may be more resentful, because employers are not allowed to set legal retirement ages.