Let companies avoid older programmers at their peril. The companies that do hire them will do much better by avoiding reinventing wheels, repeating the mistakes

Let companies avoid older programmers at their peril. The companies that do hire them will do much better by avoiding reinventing wheels, repeating the mistakes of the past, and losing valuable tribal knowledge due to high turnover rates. I firmly believe that nothing "needs to be done" about lack of diversity in work places because the penalty for avoiding candidates based on gender or ethnicity will levied slowly over time. Interviews should be conducted online without any indication what race or gender the applicant is. Their work and expertise should speak for itself. I also think trying to find people who "fit the culture" is a terrible way to hire. On the surface it seems to make sense because interpersonal communication is half the battle, but it's usually code for "hire people like us" so even though you may try to hire more diverse people on a visual basis, you'll end up hiring less diverse people on a personality basis which can be just as bad.