Tim Hessell, 62, had 30 years experience working HR for large firms when he lost his full-time job due to corporate restructuring and the Great Recession. Hessell soon learned that he was not alone as several former co-workers and others around his age also had a hard time landing work. Hessell then decided to go back to school.
"I want to keep working and I needed to try and understand a little bit more about what's going on with companies and why don't they think older workers are as attractive to hire," he said. Hessell has not published his research yet, but he has noted that "one of the major findings [of my research] is that there is a lot of ageism baked into institutions."
Hessell also noted that many HR departments and recruitment personnel aren't focused on age diversity, and that gender diversity is a much higher priority. "The way I understand it [from my focus groups] is that there's a whole sense of public shame if we're a public company and we're not seen to be supporting this [gender equality] agenda," he said.