Survey: Age Discrimination Alive at Top Ranks of Corporate America

Gray Hair Management Finds That 77.5% of Execs See Severe to Moderate Age Discrimination in the Workplace in its First Annual "Age at Work Survey." Gray Hair Management is the country's leading career coaching, networking and job search resource for professionals with base salaries of $75,000 to $300,000+.

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) October 25, 2007 -- At a time when increasing numbers of baby boomers plan to work past traditional retirement ages, executives say age discrimination is alive and well in the workplace, according to a study recently conducted by Gray Hair Management, Inc. Gray Hair Management (www.grayhairmanagement.com) is the country's leading career coaching, networking and job search resource for professionals with base salaries of $75,000 to $300,000+.

The Age Factor at Work
Gray Hair Management found that 77.5 percent of execs believe that age discrimination is severe to moderate in the workplace. At the same time, 21.8 percent believe that age discrimination is mild or almost never happens at work. Less than 1 percent believe it never happens at all.

Changing Jobs at 40+
The Gray Hair Management Survey found that 73.7 percent of executives believe they have lost a job opportunity because of their age. When asked at what point they believe age affects hiring decisions, 21.2 percent believe that age becomes a negative hiring factor before age 50; 42.5 percent believe it becomes a factor between 50 and 54; 23.7 percent believe it happens between 55-59; and 10.4 percent believe age does not become a factor in hiring until 60+. Only 2.2 percent of execs believe age is never an issue in hiring decisions.

The Age Advantage
At the same time, Gray Hair Management found that 62.4 percent of executives have felt that their age was an asset in a hiring situation. Still, 63.3 percent admit that they have made adjustments to their resume to make their age less obvious.

"There has always been an element of age discrimination during the job search, but it appears to be more prevalent in today's post-9/11 era," said Scott Kane, founder and partner of Gray Hair Management, Inc. and co-author of Winning the Job Race: Pathways Through Transition. "While there is no doubt that real age discrimination takes place, an equal threat to job seekers is their own potential age-defined mindset. The job seeker who believes that he or she is in the age discrimination range can subconsciously allow that to infiltrate their ability to conduct age-neutral interviews and networking," explains Kane. "We caution our clients to guard against this pitfall. After all, age really is just a number."

Gray Hair Management's "2007 Age at Work Survey" was conducted in October 2007 and included 548 senior level executives.

About Gray Hair Management
Gray Hair Management® is the country's leading career coaching and networking resource for executives and senior managers. Founded in 2000, Gray Hair Management holds monthly face-to-face networking sessions around the country, has more than 6,000 executives and senior managers in its worldwide database and sends over 1,500 monthly job leads and networking opportunities to its Gray Hair Management Network. The company's mission is to help professionals get jobs. Gray Hair Management does this by helping organizations and recruiters around the country find qualified candidates, providing members with networking events and job leads and by coaching clients through its exclusive Pathways Through Transition™ program. Through its corporate services division, Gray Hair Management also offers outplacement and human resource solutions for small to medium-sized businesses. Partners Scott Kane and Jack Heyden speak regularly to corporate executives around the country via networking events, speaking engagements and radio interviews. For more information, please visit www.grayhairmanagement.com.

Media Contact:
Kelly Kirkendoll Shafer
Shafer Communications for Gray Hair Management
817.236.6075
www.shafercommunications.com

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