Pawena Kaniah, marketing strategy manager at iProspect, writes on behalf of the Experience Advocacy Taskforce that ageism is often framed as discrimination against older professionals, but what about the biases younger employees face?
We talk about ageism like it only works one way — but what about the flip side? In a media industry where 43.9 per cent of us are aged 20–29 (Media-I Census, 2024), being young is still too often equated with being inexperienced. That’s up 2 points since 2022 — and yet, youth remains a credibility tax.
Despite possessing wisdom beyond my years, my insights are sometimes overlooked in favour of more “seasoned” voices. This begs the question: if ageism is about exclusion, shouldn’t we address it at both ends of the spectrum?
The Perception of Youth = Inexperience
There’s an unspoken rule in many workplaces and society at large: seniority equals expertise. Younger professionals are frequently met with scepticism — “You need more time to grow.”
I’ve experienced this firsthand. When I wrote a book at 23, publishing houses dismissed me—not because of my work’s merit, but because of my age: why should a whole cohort of students believe the educational content of a 20-something? A “youngling” couldn’t possibly have something valuable to say, so I had to move to self-publishing. Later, when I wanted to participate in radio debate platforms, I was easily dismissed. Again.
Without the branding of accolades or decades of experience, my voice didn’t “warrant” a seat at the table. Without earning some of the awards I did in the recent years of my career, I didn’t need a cloak of invisibility; I was invisible, simply. The same dynamic seeps into meetings, where being seen as “junior” often means ideas are scrutinised more or sidelined entirely.
This bias isn’t just frustrating—it’s limiting. With a churn rate of 25 per cent within organisations, we already are an industry that’s quick to promote, which means that we have incredibly young middle management, yet further career progression halts suddenly. Not to mention the utter disconnect that builds between generations at workplaces: no one is truly listening to one another.
The Reality: Experience vs. Age
The irony? Some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs and industry disruptors started young. Tech giants, creative visionaries, and startup founders often prove that capability isn’t tied to years of service. Yet, in traditional corporate structures, young professionals are frequently told to “wait their turn.”
Shut out before we even begin — we’re asked to prove ourselves through experience, locked out of the very opportunities that build it. So how do we rewrite the rules of this cycle?
Is Reverse Ageism Truly Comparable to Ageism?
While reverse ageism exists, it’s important to acknowledge that it doesn’t carry the same systemic weight as traditional ageism. Older professionals often face forced exits, whereas younger professionals still have opportunities to prove themselves.
Scepticism towards youth isn’t outright discrimination, but it does limit potential. The real issue is a rigid definition of experience, one that values tenure over ability.
In advertising, there’s a concerning trend: a significant drop in workforce representation after 39. As we live longer, healthier lives, why are we losing experienced voices so early? If our industry increasingly skews younger, how can we ensure our creative and media strategies reflect all ages?
We’re all going to be 50+ someday (5.5 per cent of the media industry). If we don’t address age biases now, how do we expect to thrive professionally in the future?
For young professionals, the call to action is clear: advocate for yourself, demonstrate expertise, and seek allies. Your voice matters now, not just when you hit an arbitrary age threshold.
What can we do?
Reverse ageism isn’t the same as systemic ageism, but it still stings. Young talent gets second-guessed, while older talent gets shown the door. One is laced with scepticism. The other? Full-blown exclusion.
But both are built on the same lazy myth: that experience lives in a number. That wisdom can be clocked like timesheets. That leadership arrives with grey hair and a LinkedIn bio from the ‘90s.
If we keep worshipping tenure over talent, we’ll keep losing the plot — and the people.
This industry is obsessed with what’s next. So why are we so stuck in how we value people?
We don’t need mentorship programs. We need power rebalancing. Young minds in boardrooms. Seasoned minds in brainstorms. Cross-generational creative teams who know their value — and aren’t afraid to use it.
Because one day, we’ll all be 25 again in our minds and 55 on our CVs — and we’ll want to be seen for what we still bring to the table, not what people assume we’ve left behind.
