What is your job at Microsoft and what is the age structure of your team?
I am Head of Customer Success Account Management for Travel, Transport, Power and Utilities at Microsoft and I have a very diverse team. My youngest team member is in his early 20s and my oldest is in his early 60s.
What role does age play for you in your team and when recruiting?
I don't look at age at all, I just look at skills. It's often the case that age comes with a great deal of experience, and that's why I'm always very happy when I manage to hire competent and experienced people and when they choose me and my team. For me, age would never be a factor to favor or disadvantage someone.
Does a female manager have problems with older employees?
When you lead a team of people who are significantly older than you and therefore also have more professional experience, you often initially encounter a certain basic skepticism. So far, however, my personal experience has been very positive. People have been open and have always given me opportunities. With my current employer, in my current team, this is not an issue at all. My team is very appreciative, and I even often have situations where employees are mistaken for the boss and then stand in front of me and say, hey, this is my boss, and please speak to her.
Too young, too old? Which of these stereotypes do you encounter more often?
Too old. Too young has negative consequences in that young people e.g. in management positions or positions of responsibility are not expected. Then people simply look at their age and assume, ok, this person is still so young, they cannot have the skills for this position, even if they do.
From my point of view, the stigma of being too old is more pronounced in society, since the attribute “too old” is often associated with the idea that these people already have one foot in retirement and are therefore no longer willing to work, are no longer willing to learn, are no longer willing to drive innovation. Fighting this stigma is really a matter close to my heart.
Does classification into age groups like 50plus or 30minus make sense to you?
Well, we can apply that to so many situations.
For example, to women after they have become moms. How often are there programs like "Get your body in shape within 60 days after childbirth". Our society really has very absurd ideals, which in my view are not only absolutely unrealistic, but also put people under a lot of pressure and cause stigmata. And so I find this 50plus, anti-aging, "Oh god, your hair is gray now, oh god, you have wrinkles now" really bad. If you don't feel comfortable with your gray hair and want to dye it, then that's absolutely fine.
Everyone should do what they are comfortable with, but they should not do it because they fear age discrimination, but because it makes them feel better about themselves.