Addressing Ageism
About this Framework
Closing the Divide: Building Trust by Addressing Bias in Medicine provides a framework for how to respond internally and externally to encounters marked by biased behaviors in the clinical and nonclinical settings. The tools provided will assist with creating a platform for honest, open discussions about the presence and impact of biased behaviors in both clinical and nonclinical settings in medicine.
About this Module
In this module, the faculty member is having an annual faculty review meeting with her supervisor. Although she would like to be considered for opportunities that will prepare her to meet to promotion requirements, her supervisor expressed biased comments related to his perception of the goals of young junior faculty.
Intersectionality can be defined as the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender, as they relate to creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage (CRJ). In this scenario, the supervisor expresses biased comments related to the faculty member’s age and sex or gender identity. If unjust or unfavorable treatment occurs as the result of the biased behavior, this is considered a form of ageism and sexism, respectively. Ageism refers to the stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination towards others or oneself based on age (WHO). In ageism, the stereotypes that others hold related to age can guide the inferences they may make about others, including their physical and mental capacities, social competencies and political and religious beliefs. These inferences can lead to overgeneralizations that consider every person within a given age group to be the same (WHO). Sexism is defined as discriminatory treatment of a person based sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or pregnancy (EEOC).
Reflection Questions
What are some of the thoughts or questions that came to mind as you viewed this encounter?
How does intersectionality play a role in this encounter?
How do you mentor a colleague who experiences ageism?
Have you ever been subjected to biased comments related to your age and related inferences of your physical and mental capacities and occupational competencies?
Have you ever witnessed a colleague being subjected to biased comments related to their age and related inferences of their physical and mental capacities and occupational competencies?
How would you respond during an encounter like this?
Clear the AIRR
The Clear the AIRR provides a framework for how to respond internally and externally to encounters marked by biased behaviors in the clinical and nonclinical settings
The Clear the AIRR tool is a curriculum that supports and empowers the healthcare team to respond when experiencing or witnessing macroaggressions and microaggressions or other biased behaviors in the clinical and nonclinical settings.
ASSESS
Before raising a concern, you should have some prior assessment of how you expect your supervisor to respond, and have developed language and phrasings you plan to use during your conversation that will encourage a productive discussion. When in the moment delivering your concerns, assess your supervisors’ response – look at body language, tone, and eye contact. Are they open to this discussion, or should it be paused for a time when the conversation can be more productive?
IDENTIFY
Identify what may be the root of your concerns. Is there age discrimination? Is there intersectionality of other biased or discriminatory behaviors at play? Are you being treated differently than others?
RESPOND
After expressing your concerns, If the supervisor replies in a positive way, thank him or her for being open to the discussion. However, if your supervisor’s response is not supportive, then adjust your response to ensure you maintain a professional working relationship. Refer to the video portion of this module for useful phrases for these encounters.
REPORT
If you believe you are being treated unfairly, and there is ageism, or other discrimination at play, there are ways to report this. Each institution has different resources for reporting, so explore what options exist at your institution. Refer to the video portion of this module for specific reporting methods.
Thank You for Participating
With this framework, we hope that you learned helpful tips and techniques on how to address encounters marked by biased behaviors. Our goal is that this serves as a platform for honest, open discussions about the presence and impact of biased behaviors in various settings. We encourage you to share this training with your trainees and colleagues
