Journal article
The construction of the older worker: privilege, paradox and policy
Susan Ainsworth, Cynthia Hardy
DISCOURSE & COMMUNICATION | SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC | Published : 2007
Abstract
Our study of a public inquiry shows how particular constructions of the older worker — as male and lacking in self-esteem — were privileged as a result of discursive manoeuvres that established comparative disadvantage among different identities. Paradoxically, traditional gender stereotypes were subverted to construct female willingness to accept low status, low paid jobs as a reason why they did not need help in the form of policy initiatives; while men's intransigence meant they deserved greater support. A second paradox concerned the construction of the older worker as lacking self-esteem: it led to self-esteem based solutions that were the responsibility of the individual to remedy ..
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