PERSPECTIVES OF OLDER WORKERS IN MULTICULTURAL POPULATIONS: AFRICAN AMERICAN/BLACKS AND HISPANIC/LATINOS

The perspectives of 1,036 Hispanic/Latino workers ages 45+ and 903 non-Hispanic African American/Black workers ages 45+ are explored in this paper. Topics include why Hispanic/Latinos and African American/Blacks work, their experiences with employment and caregiving, optimism/pessimism related to work, experiences with age discrimination in the workplace, and job-related actions (training, updating resumes, etc). The research also explores characteristics of their jobs and level of involvement in independent and contingent work, including types of independent income generation. The paper will delve into sociodemographic differences within the Hispanic/Latino and African American/Black older worker population and will compare both populations to each other and to non-Hispanic white older workers. For example, 60% of Hispanic/Latinos have seen or experienced age discrimination in the workplace, while 77% of African Americans say the same. This data will serve as a springboard to discussing challenges and opportunities of multicultural audiences related to the longevity economy pertaining to work and jobs. We will also discuss how this data can be useful to not only policy audiences but employers as well.