Why diversity management fails: Metaphor analyses unveil manager attitudes

Through analysing managers’ use of metaphorical images, this study is the first to reveal negative stereotyping of a senior hospitality workforce. In-depth analyses indicate that age discrimination exists towards seniors; managers seem to be biased. Some have positive experiences with a senior workforce, but when it comes to recruiting new employees, younger people are the first choice. There is a coexistence of positive and negative attitudes, where negative attitudes cohere with traditional stereotypes of ageing individuals in the society. This underlying prejudice is probably one of the reasons why diversity management, in terms of age diversity, has failed in the Norwegian hospitality industry.