ACCEPTABLE DISCRIMINATION IN HUMAN RESOURCING?

How much longer are both private and public sector employers in Canada going to get away with skirting enshrined human rights discrimination laws on the prohibited basis of age by demanding potential applicants provide the date they graduated from high school? It's not rocket science to determine at least the approximate age of someone who graduated in the '70s, '80s or '90s and, through today's ubiquitous online human resourcing systems, automatically eliminate applicants of a certain age even before their actual employment history and experience is considered.

It's difficult enough, particularly in the National Capital Region (where I was born and raised in a military family), to secure employment in any way, shape or form, without having to deal with other barriers such as the ever-growing requirement for fluent bilingualism, job ads targeted at special interest groups, geographic restrictions, and nepotism, without this sneaky way of discriminating against older people.

With more than 20 years of administrative experience to my credit, and having been 'included' in more than a dozen public service human resource inventories, and applying to numerous temporary employment agencies, as well as private sector positions, since moving back to Ottawa in July, I can only conclude that my continuing lack of employment (or even interviews for same) lies in the mandatory provision of the date I graduated from high school (and/or university and college), which gives a clear indication that I am no longer a young person (but not quite dead yet).

It's time for Canadian (and U.S.) governments at all levels to lead the way in practicing what they preach, where discriminatory and preferential applicant screening (never mind actually hiring) is concerned.

Diane M. Wells

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