The Representation of Older Workers and the Culture of

Information TechnologyMairead Moloney, Kate Pepin, Jennifer

Craft Morgan, & Victor MarshallUNC at Chapel Hill

NC Conference on Aging, 2004

Agenda

Brief overview of the comparative study General patterns of underrepresentation of

older workers in information technology Preliminary findings from our short

telephone survey and focused interviews Open discussion

A multi-disciplinary, cross-national comparison of IT employment and workforce aging in Canada, the United States, the European Union, and Australia

Examines the relationship among workforce aging, employment growth in IT labor markets, and the transformation of employment relations in the new economy

Funded through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada under the Initiative on the New Economy

Principal Investigator: Julie McMullin, Ph.D., University of Western Ontario

U.S. Team Lead: Victor Marshall, Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Five Research Themes The transformation of employment

relations in IT The dynamics of an aging workforce in IT

labor markets Diversity in IT employment How IT employees negotiate life course

transitions Human resource management policy and

practice issues

The Image of Information Technology (IT)

IT has an image of being youthful, male and white

Age and IT

Older workers are underrepresented in the IT workforce. – Workers over the age of 45 comprise 31.8% of

the overall US workforce and only 25.4% of the IT workforce.

– Workers over 55 constitute 11.7% of the overall workforce but only 6.8% of the IT workforce (ITAA, 1997).

Age Discrimination in IT?

Older IT workers (40 +) are more likely to lose their job than younger IT workers.

Older IT workers are just as likely to find new jobs as younger workers and do so in a similar length of time. However, the new job is more likely to come with a pay cut in the case of older IT workers.

Age Discrimination in IT?

Older workers face substantial entry barriers to occupations with computer usage (Hirsch, Macpherson & Hardy, 2000).

Many older IT workers perceive age discrimination in recruitment and retention.

According to the ITAA - only 19% of computer science graduates are still in IT 20 years later.

Case Study Methodology 20-30 case studies of IT firms.

– 10-12 case studies per region– In U.S.: One large, one or two medium, and

several small IT companies– Studies conducted in NC and FL

Multiple methods: employee web survey, focused interviews, archival document analysis, observation

Workforce Aging in the New Economy (US Context)

Data Short Telephone Survey (49 surveys) Key Informant Interviews (15 interviews)

Research Questions:

To what extent do informants agree that the industry is dominated by young, white males? (telephone data)

How do key informants represent older workers in their discussions of the industry? (interview data)

Preliminary Themes

Young, White and Male?

Preliminary Themes

Split opinions. Nearly 50% (22 out of 49 phone survey respondents) indicate they agree that in general IT is young, white, and male.

Qualifications NC versus elsewhere Tech Support versus Engineers Often acknowledged change in workforce

demographics

Preliminary Themes

The Representation of

Older Workers

Preliminary Themes

1. Technology changes rapidly, and older workers can’t or won’t keep up.

1. Older workers have different priorities and lifestyles that make them less attracted to the IT profession and vice versa.

Themes (continued)

1. They may not be well-represented in the pool of available job candidates.

1. Many employers may recognize the valuable skills and experience that older workers have, but will choose to bring in someone younger that will cost them less money.

A Closer Look at the Rationale

Possible Underlying Causes

Preliminary Hypotheses

Emerging Themes:– Social Networks– Education/Experience– Outsourcing– Life Course

Social Networks

Decisions about hiring:– Out of a pool of similarly qualified applicants,

employers are more likely to choose individuals who have connections to their own social network.

– Employers also discussed recruiting only from their social networks.

– Social networks are actualized in the formation of new, smaller companies.

Education/Experience

Employers are less interested in formal education and certificates.

The individual is now responsible for broadening their own skill-set.

IT skills evolving at a rapid rate –creates high levels of competition.

Outsourcing

Combating outsourcing emerged as a theme.

Relative importance of high-level versus low-level outsourcing.

Life Course

The decline of the standardized life course. Many experienced instability in their

occupational life course and this is related to instability in the social structure of IT work.

Difficulty reconciling work and family.

Conclusions and look to the future

Intentional discrimination may not be the main factor; our analyses indicate that institutionalized barriers to the recruitment and retention of older workers are prevalent

Future research will seek to solidify these preliminary findings

www.aging.unc.edu

Program on Older Workers and Retirement

International Project: www.wane.ca