Off topic: Ageism Thread poster: Lenah Susianty
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Lenah Susianty 
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:41
Member (2004)
English to Indonesian
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An agency sent me an email via Proz about a project. But I got stuck with this sentence in the email: Preferably under 45 years of age. Can we do this? For me this is ageism. In this era when we all encourage diversity, this sentence is in my opinion problematic. Just wondering what people think. Thank you.
| | | | ATIL KAYHAN
Türkiye
Local time: 23:41
Member (2007)
Turkish to English
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| Age Discrimination | Nov 10 |
In my terminology, this is called age discrimination, and it is unlawful in most countries. In the United States, where I had studied and worked for ten years, for example, it is strictly forbidden to cite age requirement/limits in employment ads.
Having said that, I do see such a discrimination in employment ads from time to time in Turkey, where I currently live. In fact, I remember just sending a quick email message to a company whose employment ad contained such a phrase. Nee... See more In my terminology, this is called age discrimination, and it is unlawful in most countries. In the United States, where I had studied and worked for ten years, for example, it is strictly forbidden to cite age requirement/limits in employment ads.
Having said that, I do see such a discrimination in employment ads from time to time in Turkey, where I currently live. In fact, I remember just sending a quick email message to a company whose employment ad contained such a phrase. Needless to say, I did not hear from them at all.
If I see such a discriminative phrase in a job ad that I plan to apply, I would simply disregard it. Of course, they are the decision maker in this case, and this might not help me at all. I now start to wonder what others think on this matter. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Experience should be valued, not penalised! | Nov 10 |
"Preferably under 45 years of age"?
Seriously???
Since when has age become a qualification for translators?
Shouldn't agencies be looking at linguistic skills, professional experience, subject-matter expertise and quality instead?
I find this requirement deeply discriminatory and quite frankly insulting.
I would immediately withdraw from consideration. Any agency that considers age more important than professional merit is not an agency I would want to work with. Ex... See more "Preferably under 45 years of age"?
Seriously???
Since when has age become a qualification for translators?
Shouldn't agencies be looking at linguistic skills, professional experience, subject-matter expertise and quality instead?
I find this requirement deeply discriminatory and quite frankly insulting.
I would immediately withdraw from consideration. Any agency that considers age more important than professional merit is not an agency I would want to work with. Experience should be valued, not penalised! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 21:41
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
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Lenah Susianty wrote:
An agency sent me an email via Proz about a project. But I got stuck with this sentence in the email: Preferably under 45 years of age.
I would ask politely why that age limit is important.
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| You may find this information useful: | Nov 10 |
European Commission – Age discrimination
https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/combatting-discrimination/age-discrimination_en
I'm not sure where that particular agency is based, so I cannot say which national legislation would app... See more European Commission – Age discrimination
https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/combatting-discrimination/age-discrimination_en
I'm not sure where that particular agency is based, so I cannot say which national legislation would apply. However, if the agency is based in the EU, Directive 2000/78/EC is worth looking into.
As you're based in the UK, you may also want to refer to the Equality Act 2010, which protects job applicants, workers and certain self-employed contractors against age discrimination.
Useful guidance from the UK Equality and Human Rights Commission:
https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/guidance/protected-characteristics/age-discrimination
And ACAS specifically confirms that age discrimination protection can extend to self-employed people hired to personally carry out the work:
https://www.acas.org.uk/age-discrimination
Regardless of the agency's location, I find it very concerning that age should even be considered a selection criterion in our profession.
In all my years in the translation industry, I have never come across such a requirement.
Age has never been a measure of a translator's competence, professionalism or ability to deliver quality work.
Frankly, I find this both astonishing and deeply concerning. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Lenah Susianty
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:41
Member (2004)
English to Indonesian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | I was feeling offended from the get go | Nov 10 |
Lieven Malaise wrote:
I would ask politely why that age limit is important.
I feel I don't need to ask them because I found it so annoying. I think my heart worked quicker than my brain.
| | | | Lenah Susianty
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:41
Member (2004)
English to Indonesian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | It is an agency in India | Nov 10 |
expressisverbis wrote:
Regardless of the agency's location, I find it very concerning that age should even be considered a selection criterion in our profession.
In all my years in the translation industry, I have never come across such a requirement.
Age has never been a measure of a translator's competence, professionalism or ability to deliver quality work.
Frankly, I find this both astonishing and deeply concerning.
Thank you. That's why I posted here because this is also a first time for me and I found it annoying and shocking. The agency is based in India.
Just wondering whether it is worth to let Proz know about this?
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There are various routes by which an email can reach us 'via Proz'. If there are grounds to suggest that someone at Proz actually vetted the email (or a related Proz job 'opportunity' with mention of that or similar discriminatory conditions), then that 'someone' should have their knuckles very severely rapped.
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Lenah Susianty wrote:
Just wondering whether it is worth to let Proz know about this?
It certainly wouldn't to any harm.
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 21:41
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
Lenah Susianty wrote:
I feel I don't need to ask them because I found it so annoying. I think my heart worked quicker than my brain.
I would ask it out of curiosity. The reason surely won't be that they think translators over 45 years old aren't capable of doing a good job anymore.
[Bijgewerkt op 2026-11-10 15:03 GMT]
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[quote]Lenah Susianty wrote:
Thank you. That's why I posted here because this is also a first time for me and I found it annoying and shocking. The agency is based in India.
Just wondering whether it is worth to let Proz know about this?
I would definitely report it to ProZ, especially if the agency contacted you through the platform.
Regardless of where the agency is based, I believe ProZ should be made aware of this type of recruitment practice. Even if local legislation does not explicitly prohibit age discrimination, that does not automatically make it acceptable in a professional environment.
We are translators, and our competence should be assessed on the basis of our skills, qualifications, experience and quality of work, not our age.
I would therefore encourage you to raise this with ProZ and ask whether such age-related requirements are compatible with the platform's professional standards and policies.
At the very least, they should be made aware that this is happening through their platform.
| | | | Lenah Susianty
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:41
Member (2004)
English to Indonesian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
expressisverbis wrote:
Lenah Susianty wrote:
I would definitely report it to ProZ, especially if the agency contacted you through the platform.
Regardless of where the agency is based, I believe ProZ should be made aware of this type of recruitment practice. Even if local legislation does not explicitly prohibit age discrimination, that does not automatically make it acceptable in a professional environment.
We are translators, and our competence should be assessed on the basis of our skills, qualifications, experience and quality of work, not our age.
I would therefore encourage you to raise this with ProZ and ask whether such age-related requirements are compatible with the platform's professional standards and policies.
At the very least, they should be made aware that this is happening through their platform.
Thank you, I agree 100% and have just sent an email to Proz. Will keep you posted!
[Edited at 2026-11-10 19:59 GMT]
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Lenah Susianty
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:41
Member (2004)
English to Indonesian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Under 45 years old but with 8+ years localisation experience | Nov 10 |
To make it clearer and for a better context, this is the full sentences from them :
Candidate Requirements
Native speaker with strong cultural, economic, geographical, and
transit awareness.
Preferably under 45 years of age.
8+ years of overall localisation experience, with expertise in
transcreation and hyperlocalisation.
Preferably 1–3 years of additional AI-related experience (LLM
evaluation, prompt creation, or AI training).
Stro... See more To make it clearer and for a better context, this is the full sentences from them :
Candidate Requirements
Native speaker with strong cultural, economic, geographical, and
transit awareness.
Preferably under 45 years of age.
8+ years of overall localisation experience, with expertise in
transcreation and hyperlocalisation.
Preferably 1–3 years of additional AI-related experience (LLM
evaluation, prompt creation, or AI training).
Strong attention to detail and ability to follow instructions,
formatting, negative constraints, and word limits.
Familiarity with technical terminology such as API and JSON.
Key Responsibilities
Hyperlocalise paragraphs and associated prompts.
Adapt cultural and regional references to the target locale.
Maintain original meaning, intent, and global terminology.
Ensure linguistic accuracy and contextual relevance.
Follow project guidelines and quality standards. ▲ Collapse
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