My aunt has been a shop assistant for more than 30 years. Though she is 48, she looks much younger. Recently, her store shut down and she had to borrow an ID card from a 35-year-old fellow worker when she went for for a job interview. She finally got the job and proved well qualified for it.

She is lucky, as woman above 35 have great difficulty in finding a good job. In fact, this is a very common phenomenon in part of the service industry. The average age limit for waitresses, for example, is usually 18-25. Sales "girls" are more popular with employers than sales "ladies". Also, you can hardly find a secretary or air hostess above 35 in almost all the companies in Shanghai.

Age discrimination arises from the following theory: young girls are more energetic and appealing. With rosy cheeks, cherry lips and slender figures, they are in the flower of life. They best represent the image a company wants to project and their employers hope they will help to attract a considerable number of customers. Free of family burdens as well as in perfect physical condition, they could work most efficiently. Moreover, diversified training programmes focus only on young girls, long or short, formal or informal, making them seem more professional.

The theory, however, can't stand close scrutiny. Young girls may be more attractive to men, especially to young men than to women, but consumers consist of men and women, young and old. Young girls may boast good health but they lack experience, skill and tolerance. Also, they are too young to be stable, thus forming a high proportion of "job-hoppers". All these factors explain their inability to provide best service.

Middle-aged women, on the other hand, do not have the above-mentioned weaknesses. With families to support, they show a lot more responsibility and loyalty to their employer. With declining health, they cherish their job opportunities very much and are always content with a comparatively smaller wage. Besides, they are mature enough to offer most patient and thoughtful service. My aunt's success is a very good example of this.

The service industry is more than a face and a body. It requires brains and responsibility. And the greatest importance should be attached to quality. (Here I mean both the quality of the product and that of the person dealing with consumers). If quality is guaranteed, most consumers won't mind whether they are being served by young or middle-aged women. A staff of professional middle-aged women may even become a sign of a business with a good reputation. On the other hand, if quality is ignored, "Beauties" will not be able to ensure that consumers will come back.

Age discrimination, then, comes from an oversupply of labour. The incessant influx of migrant workers from all over China has pushed job competition in Shanghai to boiling point. As a result, a number of middle-aged local women, especially those who are not well-educated, are squeezed out of the job market. This is not only a huge waste of a human resource, but also a potential threat to social order. One of the factors leading to social instability is to make self-reliant people unable to support their lifestyle.

In today's Shanghai, where life expectancy for women is 78, being 35 means you are in the prime of life, rather than being in the watershed between work and retirement.

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