Is Age Bias Limiting Your Talent Pool?

​

By 2030, Australia will have more people aged over 50 than under 10 (AgeInc, 2025). With increased life expectancy, now averaging 81.1 years for males and 85.1 for females and rising costs of living, more Australians are working longer by necessity, not just choice (AIHW, 2023).

Yet despite this demographic shift, ageism remains one of the most pervasive and least-discussed forms of bias in the hiring process. At Sirius, we believe it's not just a social issue it's a business risk. And employers have the power (and responsibility) to lead change.

What the Data Tells Us

In our recent Sirius webinar Bridging the Generational Divide, we were joined by leaders from WorkPro, AgeInc, Indeed, and Bunnings to explore how organisations can unlock the full potential of a multigenerational workforce. The following insights formed the foundation of one of our key discussion points - Age Bias in Hiring.

Tania Evans, CEO of WorkPro, shared the results from a 2025 national survey of over 1,900 Australians aged 35+:

• 38% of respondents aged 50+ believed their age negatively affected their job prospects
  
  

• 1 in 8 jobseekers aged 50–59 admitted to editing their CVs to hide their age.
  
  

• Discrimination appears to intensify from age 35 onward, especially for women and professionals in white-collar sectors.
  

The most commonly impacted sectors? Education, healthcare, and business services. Conversely, trades and construction, where experience is often more openly valued report lower levels of perceived ageism.

​

Why Does Age Bias Happen?

Age discrimination often flies under the radar because it doesn’t spark the same cultural outrage as gender or racial bias (Levy & Macdonald, 2020). Yet research suggests age is one of the first three traits we subconsciously register when meeting someone along with race and gender.

This bias often manifests in:

• Interview decisions driven by personal opinions rather than structured criteria.
  
  

• Age-coded language like “recent graduate”, “digital native”, or “overqualified”.
  
  

• Stereotypes around energy levels, learning capacity, or adaptability to tech.
  

Importantly, much of this is unconscious bias, shaped by societal assumptions like “over the hill” or “teaching an old dog new tricks”. These beliefs are not only untrue but also incredibly damaging.

​

The Human Cost of Ageism

Age bias doesn't just hurt hiring outcomes it has long-term impacts on confidence, motivation, and productivity (Centre for Ageing Better, 2021). Older candidates may internalise rejection and doubt their ability to learn new skills or progress. Some even change their appearance to look younger.

This creates a vicious cycle: bias leads to exclusion, which leads to lower self-esteem, which then reinforces harmful stereotypes. All the while, businesses are missing out on high-value talent.

As Tania Evans Founder and CEO of Workpro stated:

“If we’re living longer and retiring longer, most of us still have a lot to offer, a contemporary workforce. I can't imagine at 65hitting the jackpot and wanting to just wander off into the sunset. A it’s expensive, but B I still think I’ve got lots to add” 

​

What This Means for Employers

Despite growing awareness around gender and ethnic diversity, age inclusion is still overlooked:

• Candidate pools shrink when hiring teams apply unspoken age “caps”.
  
  

• Language like “fast-paced” or “cultural fit” subtly implies youth is preferred.
  
  

• Multigenerational collaboration, a key advantage in problem-solving and mentorship

And the reality? Many professionals aged 50+ are just entering their most valuable career stage. Employers who overlook them lose out on skills, loyalty, and insight.

​

What Employers Can Do About It

Here are some actionable strategies shared by our panel to help combat age bias in hiring:

1. Audit your job ads 

Check for coded language like “recent graduate”, “energetic”, or “tech-savvy”. Focus on what’s truly essential to the role.

2. Review your screening criteria

Avoid gut-feel decisions. Instead, use clear, objective criteria to fairly assess all applicants. This helps counter homophily bias (hiring people like ourselves).

3. Offer Flexible Work Options 

WorkPro introduced “micro-shifts” to accommodate mature workers looking for flexible hours. Similarly, Bunnings adopted shorter shifts to support older team members who may not manage 8-hour retail days.

4. Train Hiring Managers on Unsconscious Bias 

Awareness starts with slowing down and noticing assumptions. Incorporate ageism into your diversity training and encourage leaders to model age-inclusive behaviours.

5. Champion Multi-Generational Teams

Even small steps like seating arrangements or mentorship pairings can improve inclusion. Avoid clustering people by age in physical or virtual workspaces.

6. Partner with Age-Inclusive Recruiters 

🙋‍♀️ Sirius actively supports candidates of all ages. If your hiring process needs a reset we’re here to help with screening, sourcing, and inclusive job marketing.

7. Leverage AI to Eliminate Subjective Bias

Modern AI tools can help screen for skills, flag age-biased language in job ads, and surface overlooked talent. Tools trained on inclusive datasets can reduce the role of human assumptions in early hiring stages.At Sirius, we use WorkPro’s HR technology to support fairer, more inclusive hiring practices particularly in the first stages of recruitment. 

As Tania Evans from Workpro explains:

“So what we've done with our platform is we're encouraging people to use blind resume screening as an example, to remove, bias triggers, like dates of birth from qualification checks, years of experience from previous roles”

​

Final Thought

Age bias is often hidden but its effects are felt deeply by jobseekers and organisations alike. As employers, we have a responsibility (and opportunity) to challenge outdated views and build truly diverse teams.

And we don’t have to do it alone.
Sirius is here to help you screen fairly, hire smarter, and future-proof your workforce.

​

Ready to take action? Use our quick self-assessment tool to uncover hidden areas where age bias might be influencing your hiring decisions.

​

Want to hear the full panel discussion and dive deeper into the data? You can request access to the recording by emailing info@sirius.com.au or visit our Events & Networking Page

​