This is a big deal. So far, over 300 people have joined a class-action lawsuit against Google claiming they were discriminated against in the workplace based on their age. Ever since Mark Zuckerberg’s since-recanted statement that younger people are just smarter, there has been a growing awareness of the rampant age discrimination in the valley. A study by recruitment platform Hired cited by the Financial Times suggests that once tech industry workers turn 45, they often see the number of job offers fall and their salaries plateau. We have heard stories of VCs refusing to fund startups with founders over 30. There are crazy stories of male developers in their 30s getting botox to increase their salary prospects. We are not even talking about people in their 50s or 60s — this is workplace ageism decades younger. It may possibly be true that young people have more energy, but it is also true that they are geniuses at spending it unwisely. All good fun; we’ve been there and we get it. We look at it as a leveling of the playing field. The younger may be quicker, and that’s debatable, but we are more reliable and more consistent. FYI, some of us even know how to code.
The solution is in the corporate cultures. Diversity of ecosystems is a good thing: more stable, more resilient, more adaptable.