Breaking Through The Grey Ceiling

The Washington Post published an article on some of the challenges that older workers may experience if they were planning on working in retirement. In their post they cited the term “the grey ceiling”.

You might be familiar with the term “glass ceiling” as it relates to women and their career advancement but what about the term “grey ceiling”?

As you know, ageism exists in the workplace. Given the supply and demand for skilled workers, this situation has begun to improve slightly. It still remains a reality, however, that many older workers are having to face.

Even though there are laws in Canada and the United States that prohibit age discrimination, it can still be an extremely difficult case to prove and often goes unchecked.

So what is the “grey ceiling”?

It is a barrier within a hierarchy that prevents older employees from obtaining upper-level positions.

The grey ceiling extends even further. It encompasses hiring older workers, continued employment for older workers, development and also advancement for older workers.

There are many reasons why people may encounter the grey ceiling but many of them are based on poorly constructed stereotypes of aging.

Older Workers Cost More