A new international workplace survey by Kelly Services, a global staffing provider, has found that more than a third of Hong Kong's job seekers believe they have been discriminated against in applying for a job, with mature workers facing the greatest prejudice.

The global survey found that 38% of respondents in Hong Kong say they have experienced discrimination of some type when applying for a job in the last five years.

The Kelly Global Workforce Index sought the views of approximately 70,000 jobseekers in 28 countries including more than 300 in Hong Kong.

The major sources of discrimination identified by respondents were age, cited by 19%, followed by 9% for gender, 5% race and 1% for disability.

However, levels of discrimination in Hong Kong are low by global standards with Hong Kong ranked 26th on the list of 28 countries. Sweden, Thailand and Singapore ranked highest. Hong Kong, followed by Indonesia, were the lowest amongst the eight countries surveyed in the Asia-Pacific region.

Approximately 11% of men and 8% of women in Hong Kong reported gender discrimination when applying for work. The survey found that people without university qualifications reported higher rates of discrimination.

Age discrimination is however much more prevalent. Almost 29% of workers aged 45 or older felt they had been discriminated against on the basis of their age. And 22% of younger workers aged up to 24 also believed they were victims of age discrimination.

The survey also found that approximately 27% of those surveyed believed they were subject to discrimination in their day-to-day working life.

Kelly Services Country Manager, Tracey Nicole Batty, said the figures highlight how discrimination is changing over time and ageism is a growing phenomenon in the workplace stemming from the fact that the old stereotypes are no longer valid today.

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