Age and Race Discrimination Reported by Middle-Aged and Older Persons

Abstract

A probability sample of 398 black, 373 Mexican American, and 373 white residents of Los Angeles County aged 45-74 were asked about their experiences with race and age discrimination in finding or staying on a job. The overwhelming majority (60%–88%) of each ethnic subsample identified both race and age discrimination as common in the country today. Smaller percentages of each ethnic subsample (20%–45%) reported that their own friends and acquaintances had experienced race or age discrimination. Finally, respectively smaller percentages of each group (8%–34%) directly identified personal experiences with race or age discrimination. Blacks were considerably more likely to assert the existence of race discrimination at each of these three levels of observation than were Mexican Americans, who, in turn, were moderately more likely to report race discrimination at each level than were whites. Differences among the ethnic subsamples were less dramatic and less consistent for reported experiences with age discrimination at the three levels of observation, although black respondents still tended to report greater exposure to age discrimination than the other ethnic groups.