Age discrimination, Thai women in their 40s

[ThaiBunny]

2 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

Sign at Amazon coffee shop- assistants needed aged 18-25, so over the hill at 26 for handing out coffee here.

I'm always entertained by the sight of pensioners working at McDonald's whenever I go to Singapore. That and cleaning the airport lavatories

[HaleySabai]

My regular 'footy' massage girl,cute as a button, just turned 25yrs old and terribly depressed with the notion of being "too old"... she says we don't know the future,forget the past, all we have is now -the present-mmm..what else do we "know" in the present....hunger,pain,sex,fear...facts,yes, but we are also Homo Sapiens with the capacity to create our own future unlike the rest of the animal kingdom that lives by pattern & impulse. Such a nice kid but with little hope of a brighter future beyond the self-imposed prison/concept of self.

 

Edited May 10, 2019 by HaleySabai

[OneEyedPie]

As an aside would your wife consider setting up her own little enterprise, OP?  There's more than one way to skin a cat as they say.

[Pravda]

3 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

My wife is 45, stills looks young and slim etc. She is in the process of looking for a job, shop assistant, condo office, hotel reception etc. (all jobs she has done before and has experience)

 

She doesnt even get in the front door or bother applying because as she says, they only want girls under 30. I thought this was just her carrying on but it turns out this is a real thing. 

I can understand wanting a young pretty to sell beer etc but even back office jobs appear to only consider under 30. All the usual qualities that usually get you a job, experiance, maturity, honesty, you are done with partying and boys etc, appear to not get you the job in Thailand.

 

Have other come across this age discrimination ?

 

I don't want to sound pretentious, but does she have any meaningful degree?

 

Because if she does, she should be applying for international companies otherwise she is stuck to Thai level of thinking.

 

 

[pgrahmm]

3 hours ago, BritManToo said:

The employers/manager want women available for sex.

 

There's some truth to that....I've been told by female gov't employees that it's not unknown for the big boss to take an office & make it an apartment/bedroom & rule the roost enjoying the candy.....

[atyclb]

4 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

My wife is 45, stills looks young and slim etc. She is in the process of looking for a job, shop assistant, condo office, hotel reception etc. (all jobs she has done before and has experience)

 

She doesnt even get in the front door or bother applying because as she says, they only want girls under 30. I thought this was just her carrying on but it turns out this is a real thing. 

 

she would not be hired either as an air hostess on american airlines as their age cutoff is 50, that is age 50 or older to work.

[Peterw42]

55 minutes ago, OneEyedPie said:

As an aside would your wife consider setting up her own little enterprise, OP?  There's more than one way to skin a cat as they say.

She actually wants to step away from the little enterprises and just work for someone else. a break from ups and downs of business, a regular paycheck.

[Peterw42]

2 hours ago, Orton Rd said:

Sign at Amazon coffee shop- assistants needed aged 18-25, so over the hill at 26 for handing out coffee here.

18-25, must have 10 years experience.

[nontabury]

The opposite of what happens in the U.K.

I have been helping a couple Thai women to obtain,or to gain better employment here,along side a couple of Eastern European’s, Unfortunately they have a big disadvantage, as they are under 40yrs old, not extremely fat and covered in Tattoos, as that seems to be the requirement here.

 

 

[Briggsy]

4 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

Have other come across this age discrimination ?

Yes, many job adverts specify 18 - 30 or 35.

 

There are a number of reasons.

1. Thais are paid by age. Bizarre as it sounds, a 28-year-old doing the same job as a 50-year-old gets paid less. Employers want young workers.

2. The seniority structure of Thai society is based on age. If someone joins a company in middle age, they may be trained by somebody 10 or 15 years younger than them. Both feel very uncomfortable. Worse than that, the older inexperienced starter may start to boss the experienced younger worker around because that is how society works here. Then you have problems.

3. Younger minds learn more quickly and work more quickly and are less likely to question commands.

 

Basically, the mass Thai employment market is very limited to those over 40. Most people in this age bracket have to work for themselves selling stuff, farming or taxi driving. Your girlfriend is correct.

[Denim]

4 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

Have other come across this age discrimination ?

 

Yes, when I worked in Bangkok my boss ( Thai Chinese ) was looking for a new secretary. He got rid of his last one as she was not too bright. I knew a couple of girls who were efficient and smart ( travel agent and receptionist ) and recommended them. He didn't like them as not pretty enough and too old ( about 30 ) which he felt would make his business look bad.

 

On another occasion a girl ( cleaner )who had formally worked at this company turned up on my doorstep and asked if she knew where she and her friend could find work. I looked around but found nothing while they also looked for themselves. The former cleaner found work at a noodle stand washing dishes. However , nobody would employ her friend who had burn scars on her face and one arm that she got when caught in a fire as a child.

" you would scare the customers " she was tactlessly told.

 

As she was desperate I suggested she go to Soi Cowboy where I felt she could find work as a dish washer with free board until something better came up. As she didn't know where it was I took her and told one of the girls I knew there the problem. She had a word with the boss and got her a job as cleaner and glass washer.

 

I checked up on her a couple of days later and she was fine. Free shared room and board with a small salary.

 

A few weeks later I bumped into her walking down Sukhumvit in obviously new clothes and a stylish haircut.

I asked how she was and she told me that one night the bar was short of dances so they asked her to give it a go go for

better wages ( her body was fine, just face and arm scarred ) 

 

Within a few nights of this some German bloke bar fined her, got smitten and was taking her to Germany. I was a bit worried about this and warned her that perhaps she better get to know him better first. But she said it was the real deal and they had already had the village ceremony and he had paid the sin sot. 

 

Never saw her again but I hope it all worked out for her and that it really was a lucky break and not a con.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 10, 2019 by Denim

[Peterw42]

4 minutes ago, Briggsy said:

Yes, many job adverts specify 18 - 30 or 35.

 

There are a number of reasons.

1. Thais are paid by age. Bizarre as it sounds, a 28-year-old doing the same job as a 50-year-old gets paid less. Employers want young workers.

2. The seniority structure of Thai society is based on age. If someone joins a company in middle age, they may be trained by somebody 10 or 15 years younger than them. Both feel very uncomfortable. Worse than that, the older inexperienced starter may start to boss the experienced younger worker around because that is how society works here. Then you have problems.

3. Younger minds learn more quickly and work more quickly and are less likely to question commands.

 

Basically, the mass Thai employment market is very limited to those over 40. Most people in this age bracket have to work for themselves selling stuff, farming or taxi driving. Your girlfriend is correct.

Yes, your second point is defiantly most of it. 

I recall when wife was the new girl in a condo office and her boss was younger. The morning greeting, the younger would wai and greet older as P (as young people do when greeting older) then younger would tell older what to do, when to go for lunch etc.  It worked fine in that instance but I can see how it would make dramas.

It makes a lot more sense after your explanation.

[seajae]

its all t*ts and arse that get the job, you only have to look at the ones working with no knowledge what so ever on what they are selling or doing, management goes for the "sex appeal" side for hiring in most cases. Try asking them about something you want to buy, they just give you a blank stare because they have no idea and they are no real bright as well. Hiring people for their ability and knowledge are just not considered, its all t*ts and arse, one of the only exceptions are govt jobs

 

[glennb6]

ehhhh, ms need to work. she pointed out the sign at the local 7/11 that says in thai 18-30yrs old only.  I was considering going in and asking the manager if that meant I was too old to buy anything there... don't think they'd get it anyways.

 

pretty screwed up to supposedly give respect to 'old people' simply because they are old, yet - reject them for being old....&%^&*??? thai logic?

[justin case]

haha my wife is like a old fat grandma and not even 40

 

but in divorce proces, but not for that, she is an evil <deleted>

[1FinickyOne]

5 hours ago, roger buttmore said:

Have you considered the fact he may want to do the job as a reason to get out of the house and be part of society?

Thanks - no need to considerate... he was a neghbor - he needed the scratch

[Chongalulu]

6 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Slightly off topic,

Nobody in the UK wants to employ people over 40 either (men or women).

When I was just over 40, I looked around me at my office in London and realised apart from senior management, I was the oldest person they employed. At 45 I accepted redundancy, never to have a full-time job again.

 

It's the way the world is moving.

 

Probably a bit of an outdated view  now. U.K. has very low (3.9%) unemployment and a workforce shortage. Supermarket checkouts and other retail outlets are full of older 60+ operatives. There are quite strict age/sex discrimination laws too - you cannot even stipulate preferred age profile on the job advert. The increasing age demographic in most western economies mean that world is moving in the opposite direction to that you suggest. 

[NoshowJones]

6 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

I agree but its often a little different in the west, the old person never learnt computers, never got a degree, is missing a skill set the younger person has. 

In Thailand you could be highly skilled but the unskilled 20 year old gets the job.

Yes, for reasons already mentioned.

[uhuh]

3 hours ago, Briggsy said:

Yes, many job adverts specify 18 - 30 or 35.

 

There are a number of reasons.

1. Thais are paid by age. Bizarre as it sounds, a 28-year-old doing the same job as a 50-year-old gets paid less. Employers want young workers.

2. The seniority structure of Thai society is based on age. If someone joins a company in middle age, they may be trained by somebody 10 or 15 years younger than them. Both feel very uncomfortable. Worse than that, the older inexperienced starter may start to boss the experienced younger worker around because that is how society works here. Then you have problems.

3. Younger minds learn more quickly and work more quickly and are less likely to question commands.

 

Basically, the mass Thai employment market is very limited to those over 40. Most people in this age bracket have to work for themselves selling stuff, farming or taxi driving. Your girlfriend is correct.

Reminds me of the article that Bloomberg ran yesterday about Boeing. Is that a Thai company? 

 

In my country,  you cannot get any job if you are over 40 or 45, no matter you are man or woman.

And once you are 55, you will be driven out of your job if you still have one. Nobody over 55 works in a bank, for example. 

 

The young are cheap and docile. They quickly learn whatever fad management teaches them. 

[nontabury]

48 minutes ago, nchuckle said:

Probably a bit of an outdated view  now. U.K. has very low (3.9%) unemployment and a workforce shortage. Supermarket checkouts and other retail outlets are full of older 60+ operatives. There are quite strict age/sex discrimination laws too - you cannot even stipulate preferred age profile on the job advert. The increasing age demographic in most western economies mean that world is moving in the opposite direction to that you suggest. 

 

True, but one of the main reasons Supermarkets like to employ older people, is that many of them do not want to work more than 16hrs wk, at minimum wage, as to do otherwise could result in lose of benefits. This also suits the companies, who employ them on zero contracts. Low wages, easy to lay off.

[geoffbezoz]

7 hours ago, BritManToo said:

The employers/manager want women available for sex.

 

Is that why it appears Central employs a disproportionate number of lady boys and gays ? ????

[Dnyy]

4 minutes ago, geoffbezoz said:

Is that why it appears Central employs a disproportionate number of lady boys and gays ? ????

And clueless.

[emptypockets]

4 hours ago, atyclb said:

 

she would not be hired either as an air hostess on american airlines as their age cutoff is 50, that is age 50 or older to work.

Similar to QANTAS hags and fags need only apply.

[OneEyedPie]

23 minutes ago, emptypockets said:

Similar to QANTAS hags and fags need only apply.

And British Airways.  Coincidentally, they codeshare or at least used to.

[Kalasin Jo]

9 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

Yes, there is certainly an aspect of that thinking, my wife truly considers herself older than she is. I am always pulling her up when she says too old for swimming, dancing, out past 9pm. Over 40 in Thailand is the same as over 60 in western countries.

So true. My wife is the same. She is 42. For Europeans life is in full swing at that age! When I met her she was 35 and constantly saying she had not much time before she get old. Mindset cannot be changed: I old lady now. Yet I read somewhere life expectancy is only a little less than for Europeans. What's she going to think over the next 30+ years? And how much fatter is she going to get?!?

[kevin612]

Oh, this is true in Thailand 

[Ctkong]

10 hours ago, Orton Rd said:

Sign at Amazon coffee shop- assistants needed aged 18-25, so over the hill at 26 for handing out coffee here.

Maybe the real reason is that at that age being paid minimum wage or low salary is acceptable as their living expenses ( assumed unmarried) are low. 

[Ctkong]

10 hours ago, ThaiBunny said:

I'm always entertained by the sight of pensioners working at McDonald's whenever I go to Singapore. That and cleaning the airport lavatories

Singaporean old folks get to clean lavatories, be cleaners or other less savory jobs because they usually do not have children supporting them or have layabout children. Their social safety net is not as good as western cultures. A person once remarked that you can judge how far that country’s society had arrived by the way they treat their old folks. 

[CLS]

Yes, a woman over 40 is older than yesterday’s newspaper


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[Ctkong]

8 hours ago, Briggsy said:

Yes, many job adverts specify 18 - 30 or 35.

 

There are a number of reasons.

1. Thais are paid by age. Bizarre as it sounds, a 28-year-old doing the same job as a 50-year-old gets paid less. Employers want young workers.

2. The seniority structure of Thai society is based on age. If someone joins a company in middle age, they may be trained by somebody 10 or 15 years younger than them. Both feel very uncomfortable. Worse than that, the older inexperienced starter may start to boss the experienced younger worker around because that is how society works here. Then you have problems.

3. Younger minds learn more quickly and work more quickly and are less likely to question commands.

 

Basically, the mass Thai employment market is very limited to those over 40. Most people in this age bracket have to work for themselves selling stuff, farming or taxi driving. Your girlfriend is correct.

Thai people ,especially those not university graduates, tend to bring their limited work expertise to their next working place using their seniority in age as a badge. The type of work culture tend to hold back a company from achieving great stride. A younger work force is more dynamic and focus. Any worker more than 50 years of age will not learn any new tricks preferring to hunker down protecting his job and his health. You would not see an older person trading his health for the interest of career advancement as a younger person. The commitment is just not there.