One thing I've found interesting about ESGs is a very notable absence of one particular (legally protected) group: 40+ year olds. Ageism is well established as

One thing I've found interesting about ESGs is a very notable absence of one particular (legally protected) group: 40+ year olds. Ageism is well established as a reality in tech and virtually all of the companies that I've worked at have a very visible lack of anyone over 40+. At the same time this is a protected group that all of us (if we're fortunate) should eventually belong to. Same goes for discussions around diversity in hiring. I have never heard a hiring manager even hint that we need more diversity in the age of our team members. As someone in this group I don't feel particularly discriminated against on a day to day basis, but I do feel there is an implied rule that you pretend to be younger if possible. Wear t-shirts, mention your kids if you must but don't mention that they will soon be old enough to work along side you, don't bring up things like divorce (that only happens to old people) and try not to bring up your decades of experience in industry too much. The older I get (and I quite enjoy aging) the more I come to realize that being old is an anathema to the culture of tech (and late Capitalism) which constantly wants to promote neoteny so it can perpetually sell a wider audience new toys. That of course and people's very real fear of death, which aging is an annoying reminder of.