Communications has been called one of the most affected industries when it comes to age discrimination, with 45 per cent of senior comms leaders saying they’ve been stereotyped because of their age.
This is according to 2026 research from Hanson Search and sister company The Work Crowd, entitled ‘Tackling Ageism in Communications: Hiring, Leadership & Culture in an Intergenerational Workplace’. More than 200 senior leaders from across the PR and communications industry were surveyed to ‘gain a deeper understanding of ageism in the sector’.
The report defines ageism within the comms industry as ‘micro-agressions, minimising the contributions of certain individuals, overlooking team members for projects or promotions, comments or ‘jokes’ or any manner of ‘inappropriate behaviours and attitudes’.
According to a March 2025 survey conducted by The Work Crowd, ageism in comms is ‘rife’ or ‘absolutely rife’ – a sentiment echoed across in-house and agency settings. In this year’s survey, despite 87 per cent of senior comms leaders working in or managing intergenerational comms teams, older comms respondents described ‘exceptionally talented’ peers in their mid-40s as ‘struggling to find work’.
Others reported being turned away from roles for being ‘overqualified’, even though skills and experience was ranked as ‘the primary factor’ by more than 54 per cent of respondents, with 24 per cent ranking industry experience as the most important.
The report analysis stated that women over 35 described the environment as ‘brutal’, compounded by assumptions about family responsibilities; while younger comms professionals noted the pressure to have achieved career success by 30. Credibility may often be questioned or challenged by colleagues and clients, it said, and some even expressed frustrations at ‘not being taken seriously’ despite their ability and performance.
Strengthening intergenerational cultures
Despite more than two-thirds (67 per cent) of respondents saying they ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ that their organisation supported intergenerational teams, the report said that 56 per cent feel as though their organisations could do more to strengthen an intergenerational culture; while 39 per cent of UK employers said their intergenerational teams had trouble working with and understanding one another. More than 60 per cent reported ‘significant differences in workplace preferences’.
Key recommendations in the report include that organisations can manage and support intergenerational teams by valuing contribution over age, drawing on the knowledge of long-serving employees, promoting people based on skills and qualities rather than tenure, and integrating different generations without relying on stereotypes.
Nearly 30 per cent of respondents highlighted mentoring as a key benefit of intergenerational teams, while several referenced organisations with established programmes pairing new recruits with experienced professionals. Teams that brought together long-serving talent with newer colleagues were described as more effective and resilient.