Your Gray Matters is the product of a real problem in the creative, marketing and advertising industries: once you are 50... you're as good as gone. From the typical "40 under 40" to the dozens similar articles, everything in our industry is designed to waste our most valuable resources: minds. We want to end that.

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Some facts about People of Age (POA)

But under-represented

 

✅ 30% of us are 55+

✅ 18% of us are 55 - 69... prime working years

✅ POA participation in the labor force, however, is only 23.5% vs 76.5% for all workers 16-54

✅ Labor force participation falls from 72% for POAs 55-59 to 58% for those 60-64, a 20% drop. 

✅ This huge waste of talent, expertise and knowledge is even more pronounced in the Marketing, Advertising and Creative industries

Marketing, Advertising and Creative Industries

✅ The Marketing, Advertising and Creative Industries employ some 4.2 million people in the U.S., with 50% directly employed in the Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports and Media occupations (2.1 million on the BLS SOC 27-0000). 

✅ There are an additional 798,000 market research analysts and marketing specialists and 329,000 Marketing Managers. 

✅ The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that more than 59 percent of employees in the ad industry are between the age of 25 and 44 years old, with the median age being 38.

✅ The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising in the United Kingdom says only 4 percent of employees in its member agencies are over 50.

✅ In spite of the obvious vibrant age segment and large employment numbers, the industry continues to be a hotbed for ageism.

Source: https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_stru.htm#13-0000