Linda S. Wallace

Passengers aboard a United Airlines flight from Washington Dulles to Las Vegas acted courageously last Saturday as they apprehended a man trying to open an exit door in flight.

It is heartwarming and life-affirming to hear that strangers banded together to work for the collective good – and they put themselves at considerable risk to do so.

The day this human theatre unfolded, I was attending a Houston seminar designed to help prospective job hunters negotiate the fast-changing human resources landscape. Many of the people in attendance – in fact, nearly all of them – were over 40, which is the age one now is considered to be an “older” worker.

Participants were speeding along the information  highway when all of a sudden, we hit a speed bump. The career expert told us that many companies today prefer to hire mid-career workers, and they put specific limits on career experience in the job description. For instance, they may ask for candidates with 10-to-15 years of experience.

Since the recession has produced a job pool that overflows with talent, it is easy to find job hunters who fit that bill. All other applicants – younger and older – need not apply. The job recruiters said when they see this corporate language they will ONLY consider candidates who APPEAR to fall in that range. (That explains why some older workers actively try to hide experience and age on resumes, just as members of underrepresented groups try to hide ethnicity and race.)

Well, my body automatically responds whenever I sniff the odor of inequality and unfairness. I can’t help it. Really! My hand shot up the air. I asked whether, in fact, this practice was unlawful age discrimination dressed up in corporate lingo to look  presentable. I pointed out to the job hunters and job recruiters alike that HR departments can only get away with this as long as the rest of us agree to sit back and do nothing.

Discriminatory practices can not survive unless co-conspirators agree to remain silent. It is scary to think what might have happened if the passengers on the plane had been too afraid to act. What if they closed their eyes and reasoned the man going up to the exit door was doing what’s best for him so who were they to interfere?

As soon as the meeting ended, I got on Google and put in the phrase “age discrimination.”

Friends and neighbors the statistics are worrisome. It is enough to make  you wonder if all that money spent on diversity and inclusion was well spent. The number of charges alleging age-based discrimination reached the second-highest level ever last year. The FY 2009 data also show that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission resolved 85,980 private sector charges.

In fact, in  FY 2009, the Commission resolved more charges than ever alleging unlawful harassment, as well as allegations under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. In FY 2009, the EEOC recovered a record high $294 million through administrative enforcement and mediation. Further, the productivity of EEOC investigators increased in FY 2009. The EEOC resolved the second highest number of charges per available investigator in the past 20 years.

Americans are passengers on the plane to inclusion. Someone is standing in front of the exit door – posing a danger to the workforce and the community. My question: What will you do to stop this?

Here are a few suggestions:

1) As you become aware of job openings at your company, share these notices with as many people as possible. Take a stand on behalf of on an older worker or a younger friend you feel would excel in a job. Offer to serve as a reference. Job candidates gain advantage if they can contact the decision-maker.

2) Make an effort to support the growth of small and mid-sized companies. Some headhunters suggest they are far more likely right now to hire mature workers as well as those right out of college or high school. Write local, state and federal officials to ask that small companies and women-owned and minority-owned firms be included in job creation programs.

3) If you work for a corporation or organization that appears to be hiring an overabundance of mid-career workers, walk down to HR. Introduce yourself. Ask if there is a way you, or other workers, can help them to expand their employment network. Tell them you read their diversity literature and you stand ready to help.

4) Actively look for news on Best Practices. If you see a firm or company that has a creative, inclusive, hiring program, forward this information to family and friends. Begin a community “buy-cott.” Ask your family and friends to spend their money with these socially responsible companies.

(Linda S. Wallace is The Cultural Coach and author of the Cultural IQ blog. Visit http://theculturalcoach.typepad.com/cultural_iq/.)