How systematic ageism is crushing the career dreams of Kenya’s most experienced workers

What followed were insulting salary offers that treated her expertise as a liability rather than an asset.

"One person told me they needed someone with my experience to manage a team, implement and lead marketing strategy," Amani recalls. "But then they offered a salary that, after taxes, left me with a take-home of Sh70,000. Yet they still expected full-quality work—late nights, early mornings, events. It was crazy."

Welcome to Kenya's employment landscape, where having "too much" experience has become a career death sentence.

The "overqualified" label has become corporate Kenya's favourite euphemism for age discrimination. It's a catch-all excuse that sounds reasonable on the surface but crumbles under scrutiny. After all, when did competence become a disqualifier?

Frozen out of opportunities

Mary Naseka, an advertising consultant in her mid-40s, knows this trap intimately. Despite acing interviews and staying current with digital and AI tools, she's been job hunting for six months with soul-crushing results.

"I've been actively looking for a job for the last six months, and it's disheartening because at this time, your children are in high school and college and require more financial assistance," she says.

"Many times, ageism is subtly dressed as 'you are not a cultural fit' in a rejection email."

The timing is particularly cruel. Just when financial responsibilities peak—with children entering expensive secondary and tertiary education—experienced professionals find themselves frozen out of opportunities. They've built expertise over decades, only to discover it's become their biggest obstacle.

"I feel sad that after years of honing my expertise, not to be 'too little', I'm now classified as 'too much'." "Sometimes, I have wondered whether I should edit my CV to minimise my experience," Mary admits. "But then why did I get all the experience, academic credentials and skills, to be rejected because of it?"

The problem extends far beyond private companies. Moses Aguta*, who works for a government agency and spoke on condition of anonymity, reveals that ageism is "rife in some government institutions."

His agency has developed a particularly insidious system: permanent and pensionable staff—typically older workers—are systematically sidelined while their duties are handed to temporary replacements. To add insult to injury, permanent staff salaries are illegally deducted to fund these temporary hires.

"You can find over Sh6,000 off your salary in the name of 'ulichelewa job' (you were late for work), but KRA still gets your full tax," Moses, 50, explains.

The irony? During crises, it's the older permanent staff who are held accountable, but during normal operations, they're treated as deadweight.

"Young are preferred by elderly bosses," Moses notes, highlighting the psychological complexity of workplace ageism where insecurity breeds discrimination.

HR professionals acknowledge what job seekers have long suspected: "cultural fit" has become code for age discrimination. But the roots of the problem run deeper than individual bias. "Our job market equates experience in terms of personal age, and organisations at times mistake this as professional experience and maturity," explains Dennis Okore, a communications and public policy consultant with 17 years of experience. "This is a premise for disaster for organisations hiring for the wrong reasons," he says.

Quick results over mastery

Daisy Cheruiyot, a HR Manager with seven years across multiple sectors, confirms that overlooking older employees "is very common" and identifies the underlying assumptions driving this bias: "The unjustified assumption that older employees will resist technology—employers always assume that they will struggle with new tools. The quest for fast results rather than investing in stable teams. The world is quickly searching for results, not the mastery of process. Older people are about process."

This reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of value creation. While younger workers might adapt quickly to new tools, seasoned professionals bring strategic thinking, stakeholder management skills, and the wisdom to avoid costly mistakes. Companies are trading depth for speed, often to their detriment.

The generational paradox

Kenya faces a peculiar employment paradox. Youth unemployment sits at a staggering 67 percent for the 15-34 age group, yet employers continue to discriminate against experienced workers.

This creates a lose-lose situation: companies struggle with inexperienced hires while talented professionals are pushed to the margins.

The formal sector's bias is clear in the numbers. Of Kenya's 20 million employed people, only 3.3 million work in formal employment, and most formal sector employees are under 40.

Those above 40 represent a disproportionately small share, not because they're less capable, but because the system actively excludes them.

Sharon Chakava Banda, Operations Director at East African Educational Publishers, sees the commercial absurdity of this bias: "Millennial and Gen X are major decision makers when purchasing products, so it makes sense that we should have them working in organisations that can relate to this demographic."

Her company deliberately removes age limits from job advertisements and actively seeks generational balance—a progressive approach that's unfortunately rare in corporate Kenya.

Multiple economic forces have converged to create an environment where age discrimination flourishes. Kenya's employers face unprecedented pressure from escalating costs, heavier tax burdens, and global economic shocks. These factors force businesses to make cost-cutting decisions that often target higher-paid, experienced workers.

The situation has been compounded by a flooding of the job market with skilled professionals following the abrupt withdrawal of international donor funding.

Nearly 40,000 Kenyans whose jobs are supported by the USAid lost their jobs following the US government's move to shut down overseas mission. The professionals are now competing for limited positions in an already saturated market.

The issue is compounded further as high levels of graduates are added to the job market each year. Approximately 99,829 graduates complete their studies in Kenyan universities, and this influx of fresh talent, combined with the sudden availability of experienced professionals from shuttered programmes, has created an employer's market where age becomes an easy filter.

"Companies are also undergoing what we call 'the great flattening'—shedding layers of management to reduce bureaucracy," explains Dennis. "While some applaud this move for boosting efficiency, it disproportionately affects experienced workers who traditionally occupied middle management roles."

The AI revolution adds another layer of complexity. "The irony is that AI is simultaneously making some experienced workers appear obsolete while requiring the kind of strategic oversight that only seasoned professionals can provide," notes Daisy.

This technological shift particularly impacts older workers who find themselves caught between accusations of being "too expensive" and fears that they can't adapt to AI-driven workflows.

Yet the reality is more nuanced: successful AI implementation requires human judgment, ethical oversight, and change management skills that come with experience, precisely the competencies that mature workers bring.

Turning tide

While systemic bias persists, the legal tide is turning. Kenyan courts are increasingly striking down age discrimination, sending a clear message that constitutional protections have teeth.

Recent landmark cases include the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation Managing Director recruitment case and a 2024 High Court ruling that struck down age limits for a Director-General position.

These decisions ground workplace equality in Articles 27 and 41 of the Constitution, which guarantee non-discrimination and fair labor practices.

The Court of Appeal's 2025 Bank of Baroda ruling further clarified retirement disputes, emphasising that employment terms must be based on contracts and collective agreements rather than blanket age assumptions. "Age limits in job ads can be unconstitutional," legal experts now confirm, giving hope to professionals who've faced discrimination.

But legal victories alone won't change workplace culture overnight. The Employment Act doesn't explicitly list age as a protected characteristic, though courts interpret it through constitutional protections. Advocates are pushing for amendments to make age discrimination explicitly illegal, closing potential loopholes.

When age discrimination blocks traditional employment, many suggest entrepreneurship as the obvious alternative. But this oversimplifies a complex transition that requires careful planning and resources.

"Age should not force you into entrepreneurship you have never learned before or practiced in your lifetime as a working professional," warns Dennis. "Most people run to entrepreneurship as a safety net with no experience and burn all capital, becoming miserable."

Amani has taken the entrepreneurship route, starting a small agency with two employees. But she's realistic about the challenges: "Some clients want you to read their minds, expect miraculous growth, and dictate everything."

The pressure to become entrepreneurs often masks the real problem: a job market that wastes talent based on arbitrary age prejudices. Not everyone is suited for entrepreneurship, nor should they be forced into it simply because employers won't recognise their value.

The stereotypes driving age discrimination crumble under scrutiny. Employers claim older workers "will get bored" or "leave soon," but research shows the opposite. "This myth is rooted in outdated stereotypes rather than evidence," says Daisy. "Older workers often exhibit higher loyalty and lower turnover. These experienced employees stay longer in roles because they're motivated by stability and meaningful contributions, not quick jumps."

The technology gap is equally overstated. Mary is "digital and AI compliant," Amani built her career in digital marketing, and countless professionals have adapted to technological change throughout their careers.

The assumption that age equals technological incompetence is both insulting and inaccurate. Perhaps most damaging is the energy stereotype.

“Professional effectiveness isn't measured in Instagram posts or late-night coding sessions—it's measured in results, judgment, and value creation. Experienced workers bring strategic thinking, stakeholder relationships, and crisis management skills that can't be replicated by youthful enthusiasm alone,” notes Amani.

Unconscious bias training

Change requires action on multiple fronts. HR professionals like Daisy and Sharon advocate for unconscious bias training, diversity audits that track age representation, and intergenerational mentoring programmes that leverage both young energy and seasoned wisdom.

"CEOs must lead by example, publicly valuing multigenerational input in meetings," Daisy says. "Mandate diversity audits. Track age representation in leadership and address gaps." Companies need to reframe compensation discussions.

As Sharon notes, older employees often value flexibility, medical benefits, and work-life balance over just salary. Smart employers can create attractive packages without breaking budgets.

Most importantly, organisations must recognise that age diversity is a business imperative, not a social responsibility checkbox. Companies with diverse age groups better understand their markets, make more balanced decisions, and avoid the groupthink that comes from homogeneous teams.

The recent court victories offer hope, but systemic change requires more than legal precedents. It demands a fundamental shift in how Kenyan employers value experience, define potential, and measure worth.

"In Kenya, ageism is undeniably a real, systemic issue," concludes Daisy. The question isn't whether the problem exists—it's whether corporate Kenya is ready to solve it.

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