DIMENSIONSThe Executive Office of Health and Human Services Diversity Newsletter Winter-Spring 2015 IN THIS ISSUE 1 Welcome! 8 Veteran’s Corner: Five Steps 13 Diversity Calendar 2 Ageism Is Bad for You That Help Veterans Make the 16 Contact Us Transition to Civilian Life 4 So, I’m Biased...Now What? 9 Share Your Diversity Story! 6 Interactive Dialogue: An Introduction to the 10 Director’s Quiz: Test your Massachusetts Office Knowledge: Women in History on Disability Dimensions Diversity Newsletter Winter-Spring 2015 Dimensions Staff Contributors Sonia Bryan Martina Jackson Allan B. Motenko Engie Mota Welcome! John Paradis Editor Welcome to the Winter-Spring 2015 issue of Dimensions. Joe Luca Another year is upon us! Designer/Illustrator Gilbert Highet, a Scottish-born American classical Courtney Staples scholar and writer, said, “Wherever there are beginners and experts, old and young, there is some kind of Diversity Newsletter learning going on, some kind of teaching. We are all Committee Members pupils and we are all teachers.” Accordingly, in this issue Sonia Bryan – EOHHS, Co-chair we touch upon a wide array of diversity topics, and hope Lisa Bacon – EHS, Co-chair it will serve as a resource so that we can learn, expand Joy Connell – DMH our perspectives, and enjoy! Karen Langley – EOHHS Engie Mota – EOHHS Jonathan O’Dell – MCDHH Sonia A. Bryan Quoc Tran – EOHHS Diversity Officers & ADA/504 Coordinators CHE – Faith Kirkland DCF – Diane Chang DDS – Lorraine Woodson DMH – Joy Connell DPH – Juna Pierre DTA – Danielle McNeil-Speller DVS – Anita Patel DYS – Margaret Chow-Menzer EHS – Quoc Tran ELD – Mary Cummings HLY – Shawna Biscone MCB – Maria Loughran (Diversity Officer) Wayne Levy (ADA-504 Coordinator) MCDHH – Sehin Mekuria MRC – Mary Connelly ORI – Marcony Almeida-Barros (Diversity Officer) Agnes Tshitenge (ADA-504 Coordinator) 1 Dimensions Diversity Newsletter Winter-Spring 2015 Ageism Is Bad for You Martina Jackson There are federal and state laws Director of Communications, providing protection against age-based Outreach and Press, employment discrimination. Workers Executive Office of who are 40 and older cannot be refused Elder Affairs employment, denied promotion, or fired because of their age. Nor can an employer withhold equal pay and benefits from older workers. On the other hand, there are no laws against the culture of ageism. As with other forms of bias, ageism exists, but is not Older people have been adapting to the rapid changes necessarily acknowledged or even intentional. People make in technology throughout the twentieth and twenty-first assumptions about seniors based on enduring stereotypes. centuries. Young people may discount the value of that For example, younger workers may assume their older experience, but in truth, both older and younger workers colleagues are incapable of understanding or mastering the benefit from mutual collaboration, which enriches their Internet, Twitter, texting, Skype, Facebook, or Instagram. workplace. Older workers report that younger colleagues An older worker may be reluctant to ask for assistance with offer a positive, energizing aspect to their job. some computer-related problem for fear that he or she may be considered universally technologically challenged or less Another facet of ageism may be resentment that an older competent. Or, a supervisor may ask a younger staffer to worker is in a job a younger employee might otherwise fill. “help” an older worker even if he or she has not asked for People who are working beyond retirement age because help. In fact, many of today’s seniors are technologically “they want to” may be seen in a negative light, rather than savvy because that’s the way they communicate with their appreciating an older worker’s desire to remain active and children and grandchildren. productive. “Older workforce” has become a pejorative term. “New ideas” are generally deemed to be generated by younger While many younger people may think the universe of people, suggesting that experienced employees don’t have technology is their domain, Microsoft’s founder, Bill Gates, innovative ideas and solutions to workplace challenges. will be 60 this year. The first tabulating computer made its debut in 1944—71 years ago. Visit any computer store and Society benefits from the continuance of older workers because you will see throngs of older consumers sampling the latest there is a value in “having been there and done that.” Older in iPhones, tablets, and laptops. Senior centers and local workers add perspective as well. Moreover, studies show that continuing education programs offering computer courses for every year an older worker postpones retirement, he or she enjoy an overflow crowd of older learners determined to delays the possible onset of dementia by two to three percent. upgrade their skills. And, of course, older workers pay taxes. 2 Dimensions Diversity Newsletter Winter-Spring 2015 People who view aging as a negative process tended to have a lifespan seven years shorter than those who saw aging as either positive or neutral. The prolonged economic downturn has contributed to Many older people are quite active and functioning, even the extended work life for many older people because with some physical limitations. Not every young person is a their savings won’t meet their living needs. When people marathon runner, but some older people are. 55 or older are fired, they face a much longer period of unemployment—a year to 13 months—according to the What is crushing to the human spirit is the sense that one is U.S. Department of Labor, whereas the median layoff for being judged solely on the number of years one has lived, younger employees is three months. and that instead of celebrating one’s abilities, one is being dismissed because of one’s age. To be judged a less worthy Older people make up an increasing percentage of the general person because one is older is both painful and commonplace. population—nearly 20 percent are 60 and older, and that will It’s frustrating to be considered a relic of a previous time, as increase to more than 26 percent over the next 15 years. if older people are a different life form, disconnected from Life expectancy in Massachusetts has risen to 80.7 years— succeeding generations. more than two years longer than the national average. All the growth in Massachusetts’ population is in the 60-plus age Possibly the threat of living a shorter life based on bad attitudes group, according to the U.S. Census, with the 85-plus cohort about aging will help to refocus younger people. But here is the fastest growing of all. Today, the percentage of people another consideration: We begin to age at the moment of birth still in the workplace at 75 is 140 percent greater than in the and continue throughout our lives. If you are living, you are 1980s. Workers aged 55-plus increased from 25.9 million in aging. If you are young now, the likelihood is that you will live to 2007 to 31.6 million in 2013, according to the U.S. Bureau of be very old someday. And, you will want to be treated with the Labor Statistics. same respect and consideration you enjoy today. So why is ageism bad for younger people? According to a study conducted by Yale University Medical School, people who view aging as a negative process tended to have a lifespan seven years shorter than those who saw aging as either positive or neutral. If you have negative attitudes about aging and older people, you may be compromising your own later life! The point about aging and ageism is that people generally equate growing older with illness, infirmity, and decline. In fact, with dramatic medical advancements, people are living longer and healthier. Older people are no longer expected to withdraw from “society.” Aging is not synonymous with decrepitude. 3 Dimensions Diversity Newsletter Winter-Spring 2015 So, I’m Biased...Now What? Engie Mota, Esq., MPA those biases are simply an extension of our diversity as individuals. Naturally, our biases affect not only our worldview, Diversity Officer, but also our decision-making—sometimes without us even Office of Diversity, Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights being aware of it. It’s the way our brains are wired, to alert us to danger. These preferences profoundly influence our You have hidden biases; every one of us does. If you haven’t thoughts, decisions, and behaviors. But whether we act done so already, you might as well just admit it. Do you disagree? upon a bias is another thing altogether. Then ask yourself a couple of questions. Senior citizens: Are they out of touch or insightful? What about a Southern accent? Unconscious bias—or an implicit preference for certain Is it annoying or charming? How about Millennials? Young groups—often influences important workplace decisions. entrepreneurs or workers who feel that they are owed? Left unchecked, though, unconscious bias can affect hiring, assignments, promotions, evaluations, and dismissals. It’s a These examples might not reflect your conflicts. Whether we human blind spot, but the trick is to hit the pause button and want to acknowledge it, we all have implicit assumptions— question things before you act. Although we cannot completely unconscious biases—about certain cultures. Often, “bias” has eliminate unconscious bias, we can, however, address those shameful connotations. Being heavily associated with words like biases so they are not impeding the organization’s goal to prejudice, discrimination, and stereotype makes the very idea of create a balanced, diverse, and inclusive workforce. “having a bias” seem pejorative. The negative connotations have made it a taboo topic within the broader spectrum of diversity Here’s a start. and inclusion. But the reality is that each of us unwittingly favors certain types of people based on our upbringing, experience, 1.