Reforming Age Discrimination Law

"This is a comprehensive, rigorous and meticulously drawn socio-legal study of the legal response to age discrimination in the workplace, which offers important analysis of a significant current problem in Australian society. The study is very well researched, and built from and situated appropriately in a strong, relevant and credible literature base. It is novel through applying an extremely well designed and sophisticated methodology, involving mixed methods, inclduing qualitative and quantitative methods, doctrinal analysis and the analysis ofcomparative and empirical data. This study makes a substantive contribution to the literature, offering a fresh and original analysis of empirical and comparative data alongside more conventional doctrinal and qualitative analyses. * 2022 Scholarly Monograph/Book Prize, Law and Society Association of Australia and New Zealand * Combining scrupulous comparative doctrinal research with meticulous empirical case studies of enforcement, Reforming Age Discrimination Law exposes what is going wrong with how the law tackles age discrimination in employment in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Drawing on a sophisticated account of the regulatory theory and a nuanced understanding of age discrimination, Alysia Blackham proposes innovative and realistic regulatory strategies that deftly and expertly navigate the enduring tensions endemic to age discrimination law. This impressive socio-legal study should be read by anyone interested in realising equality at work and cultivating age-inclusive employment practices. * Professor Judy Fudge, FRSC, LIUNA Enrico Henry Mancinelli Professor of Global Labour Issues, School of Labour Studies, McMaster University * Through meticulous research, Alysia Blackham has produced a groundbreaking commentary on the current landscape of age discrimination. While based on original analysis, her talent for bringing together existing debates across law, sociology, business, and gerontology produces wonderful new theoretical insights and reveals the potential for a more nuanced approach to age inequalities in the labour market. This book is a must-read for academics, students, and practitioners working in the area of ageism at work, one of the most significant challenges in contemporary societies today. * Professor Kathleen Riach, Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow * Alysia Blackham has produced a state-of-the-art study of age discrimination, surely the topic of the 21st century. It focuses on work that, unsurprisingly, is the central concern of those who lodge formal complaints. The study comprehensively considers the law in the UK, Australia, and Canada with particular regard to the nature of complaints, dispute resolution, modes of enforcement, and positive duties. I recommend this book as the 'go-to' resource on age discrimination law. * Emerita Professor Margaret Thornton, The Australian National University * This is a remarkably good book, written with clarity, precision, and real expertise. It makes a compelling case for why we need to combat the ""enduring prevalence"" of age discrimination in our society and draws upon a range of theoretical and empirical perspectives to map out effective strategies for achieving this aim. Dr Blackham's work really stands out from the field - and will be of interest to anyone engaged with equality law and policy. * Professor Colm O'Cinneide, UCL Faculty of Laws * This book makes an outstanding contribution to the legal scholarship on age discrimination in the labour market and offers a riveting account of broader, salient issues pertaining to the ineffectiveness of existing enforcement mechanisms, the structural barriers to workplace equality and diversity, and the role of law in transforming societal norms and organizational culture. Academics, policymakers, lawyers, unions, and workers' rights organizations will find its rich comparative analysis and compelling methodological approach particularly useful in deepening their understanding of one of the most challenging issues of our times - the ageing population. * Associate Professor Pnina Alon-Shenker, Ted Rogers School of Management and Lincoln Alexander School of Law * In Reforming Age Discrimination Law: Beyond Individual Enforcement, Alysia Blackham examines the challenges of addressing workplace age discrimination through individual enforcement and explores options for a preventative approach. Through a refreshingly clear and accessible writing style, Blackham offers a helpful comparative analysis of the legal frameworks in Australia, UK, and Canada. In particular, reflections on how the law can better respond to intersectionality and how collective enforcement could be enhanced offer valuable insights on what might be needed to reform equality laws everywhere. * Heather Corkhill, Senior Policy Officer, Queensland Human Rights Commission * In Reforming Age Discrimination Law: Beyond Individual Enforcement Alysia Blackham seeks to find solutions to what has proven to be an intractable problem in anti-discrimination law for many years: the weak enforcement of age discrimination law cases. The book presents an account of the weaknesses of individual enforcement of non-discrimination principles on grounds of age while also modelling complementary solutions from collective enforcement. * Elaine Dewhurst, Modern Law Review *"