When talking about inclusion, I think it is interesting to talk about the lack of inclusion of over 50s across our industry and beyond. A better word for this might be Ageism. There is regular debate about the ‘inclusion’ of over 50s in our workforce. Take one look at LinkedIn and you will see the little green circle of ‘Open to work’ pop up with alarming frequency on the bios of hugely talented and experienced people over 50.

The issue seems to be that the over 50s are often deemed too expensive, too intractable, too experienced, and perhaps not digitally savvy enough to command the salary they are expecting. In the advertising and marketing industry specifically, with AI on the tips of everyone’s tongues, assumptions are made that the over 50s haven’t moved with the times and are unable to adapt to the digital landscape with the speed required to keep up with constant change. Get a millennial or Gen Zer on that TikTok account or creating with the latest AI tools. It’s simply not true. According to Ofcom, 64% of all adults aged 45-54 and 51% aged 55-64 now use social media – and have happily adapted to the new normal in terms of communication.

So, if we have embraced and adopted the digital revolution, it stands to reason that across our industry, the over 50s can advise on and create in that medium. Everything, after all, is now integrated. So why are so many tossed on the heap? I know a number of ‘over 50’ friends and colleagues who have been laid off over the last five years. Not because they aren’t hugely talented, but because most companies' mentality is to not employ someone who is expensive and experienced when you can get away with employing someone twenty years younger, more eager to put in the longer hours and a lot cheaper. And often with the smaller agencies, it’s not that they don’t want to employ someone older - they simply don’t have the resources to pay the presumed larger salaries.

Research carried out by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research and Demos, found that 36% of people aged 50-69 say they think their age would put them at a disadvantage when applying for jobs – more than any other age group. Meanwhile, 17% say they have experienced ageism directly, having been turned down for a job because of their age. Nearly a third (29%) had been told they were unlikely to be successful going for a job role due to having too much experience. More than one in 10 (11%) over 50s have disappeared from the workforce in the past five years as a result of being made redundant. These are some pretty depressing statistics.

This does not make for a happy generation – one where people live in fear of their jobs on a daily basis.  And the ripple effect of unplanned redundancies on the middle-aged is not to be underestimated. The ‘mid-life collision’ just got worse. Families rely on that salary for many reasons: to pay for kids, to send teenagers off to University, to look after older parents. All of a sudden, pensions that have been planned meticulously are derailed.

Not to mention the mental health toll it takes. Depression in the over 50s currently stands at an all-time high. Nearly half of adults (7.7million) aged 55+ say they have experienced depression and around the same number (7.3 million) have suffered with anxiety, according to a 2017 YouGov research report for the charity Age UK – revealing the scale of the mental health challenge facing older people in the UK. Financial worries are cited as the biggest cause by a whopping 27%. And this is just one element of why inclusion of over 50s across our workforce is essential. We are in the midst of an ‘Ageism Crisis’.

So what can we do to help? As employers in the creative industry, I think we need to keep an open mind. Don’t let age be the barrier for why you decide not to interview someone. We need to give everyone a fair chance and very often, you may find that salary isn’t the barrier you thought it might be. And that the experience and ‘safe pair of hands’ is exactly what you and your client need.

At Bandstand, we are a small, independent agency, and while we greatly value experience, we can only offer competitive compensation within our means, while appreciating the invaluable experience that seasoned professionals bring. The flip side of that is that with experience comes speed and shortcuts to the right solution. We often try to bring in an older creative team for big campaign pitches or certain projects to bring a different perspective and to help mentor and guide our younger team members. Sometimes it just helps to have some grey hair in the room (although I still dye mine!).