Inclusive language for talking about people of different age groups

Ageism and Anti-Ageist Language

Ageism refers to stereotypes, biases and oppression that can affect someone solely due to their age. Many companies and organisations tend to focus on ageism affecting older people and employees (bearing in mind ‘younger’ and ‘older’ are relative). An example of this is where a manager might hire a younger person over an older person, assuming an older candidate requires more training or might have a shorter tenure.

Ageism actually affects individuals of all ages. For example, ageism against young people can be exemplified in areas like politics, where younger voices can often be ignored or not taken seriously.

The definition of who is a ‘young’ or ‘old’ person is relative to societal and community perceptions - and so can vary quite a lot. The main notion to keep in mind is that ageism can affect everyone, so it’s worth being mindful of avoiding certain assumptions that come through in our language.

Anti-ageist language focuses on removing assumptions of someone’s abilities and value as being solely based on age. It aims to be more person-centric, meaning to avoid conflating a person’s age with the rest of their character.

Encouraged:

Asking everyone in the workplace (both during the recruitment process and the course of employment) if they require any workplace adjustments (irrespective of age)
Using ‘older person/people/adult’ instead of referring to someone as bring ‘elderly’ or a ‘senior citizen’
Being specific where possible rather than generalising or grouping by age

Avoid:

Referring to age without context (e.g. it would be appropriate to discuss age when talking about improving conditions in retirement/aged-care organisations or when thinking of social policy to improve access to housing for people under 40)
Stereotypes and generalisations based on age (e.g. assuming that someone aged 80 years can’t use the latest technology because of their age)
Language or images which connotes being ‘young’ with good and being ‘older’ with something negative
Using ‘elderly’ as reference to a group or ‘kids’ as a reference to younger adults.

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