<p><b>The one "ism" that affects us all.</b></p><p>Everyone experiences age-related bias at some point in their careers, but for women the costs are greater, since gender and age accrue to make you a double target for bias. Sure, there are laws and organizational rules prohibiting age-related discrimination, but those don''t always translate to lived experience. Ageism affects the opportunities you have access to at work, how others perceive and value you, your health and well-being, and your income.</p><p>Ageism can affect how we see ourselves, too; for example, not throwing our hat in the ring for a promotion because we think we''ve begun the slow march to retirement, or because we think we''re too new to the workforce to be climbing the career ladder.</p><p>But you can change the narrative around age for the better. Even if you''re not a leader or policy maker, you can make a positive impact through how you talk about age, what you do when you witness bias, and what you enco