I cannot comment on how widespread ageism is at IBM but I have to believe part of the issue is individual stupidity and lack of common sense on the part of management. I am retired from IBM now but I recall a very uncomfortable incident a few years ago where my manager asked me to tell everyone on a team call how old I was. I did not respond to that ask and I was quite infuriated. For fear of reprisal, I never reported this to IBM HR and did not feel it would do any good anyway.
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Ok enough downvotes, let’s hit them where it hurts. Those of you who have been victims of age discrimination and abuse, write to your politicians AND contact your newspaper and news media and provide them your incident details. And by the way, I blew away any of the summit hires or young hires in terms of technical aptitude, experience with the newest technology, work ethics, and communication skills.
Annoying to see all these downvotes. Doesn’t age discrimination bother normal human beings. Someday you be the victim
Got tossed in the last wave in April. I’m 62.
Several others over 50 did as well.
I don't think ageism needs to be proved at IBM. Don't take my word for it. Here's what the EEOC had to say: "The Commission’s investigation reveals that Respondent conducted Resource Actions analyzed by the EEOC between 2013 and 2018 that had an adverse impact on employees in the protected age group (PAG). The investigation uncovered top-down messaging from Respondent’s highest ranks directing managers to engage in an aggressive approach to significantly reduce the headcount of older workers to make room for Early Professional Hires. Analysis shows it was primarily older workers (85.85%) in the total potential pool of those considered for layoff. Evidence uncovered older employees who were laid off and told that their skills were out of date, only to be brought back as contract workers, at a lower rate of pay with fewer benefits. EEOC received corroborating testimony from dozens of witnesses nationwide supporting a discriminatory animus based on age."
"Ageism" is a symptom of a much larger problem at IBM, which is an astounding lack of original thinking among the management ranks. While at IBM, I observed many situations where management followed the latest "trends", no matter how much or how little sense it made. From ageism, to firing (via RA) the "bottom 10% every year" (thanks Jack Welch), to implementing agile development EVERYWHERE (project managers weren't enough, now for every project there were also scrum masters...sucking up the budget and wasting everybody's time). Is Six Sigma still a thing? Or Lean? I thought all that stuff was meant to improve efficiency and reduce costs. They all did the opposite, heh.