Even those with lots of oldies prefer youth image

Your front-page artice ‘Academics slam ‘ageist’ Sunday Times top firm list’ and opinion page struck an immediate chord with me (Personnel Today, 7 March).

Knowing the organisation well, I was delighted to see wildlife charity the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) included in the top 100 at 37 at only its first attempt, and immediately turned to read of its achievement. Scanning the data, it was pleasing, but not unsurprising, to see that 16% of its people are aged 55 or over. This must have been among the highest of the winners.

However, what did surprise me was the supporting picture of two very young people looking as if they have just closed the university door behind them. This made me wonder why the RSPB chose to portray its staff by depicting them in a way which was not entirely representative, and why the charity missed such an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the diversity of its workforce.

This took the shine off their achievement for me.

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Anne Kirkham
Head of human resources
The Electoral Commission