AGEISM AND THE EXPERIENCE OF DISABILITY

Back to all Motions

Conference
2019 National Disabled Members' Conference
Date
12 July 2019
Decision
Carried as Amended

Conference believes that one of the barriers experienced by disabled workers can be the intersection of age discrimination and disability discrimination.

For example, younger and older workers with similar impairments may be treated differently by their employers due to age-related perceptions about their physical or mental capacities. This can lead to bullying, or employers failing to make the appropriate reasonable adjustments.

Younger and older people with disabilities may also experience differences in the treatment and social care they receive which are linked to stereotypes and prejudice about their age. Provision for older Black disabled people is often not reflective of Black heritage and may not meet cultural and religious needs. Additionally, older disabled people who identify as LGBT+ may face additional prejudices and discrimination when accessing social care, such as care homes for example, as publicised in Marie Curie’s 2016 report titled: ‘Hiding who I am – the reality of end of life care for LGBT people’.

As the Equality Act 2010 does not include protection against multiple or intersecting discriminations, it can be difficult for workers to challenge these types of discrimination.

We call on the Disabled Members Committee to:

1)Work with the National Young Members Forum and the Retired Members Committee to highlight this issue;

2)Produce guidance for branches on how to support older and younger members in challenging disability discrimination;

3)Campaign for improved legislation which protects against multiple and intersecting discriminations.