Recently, Samsung Electronics announced that all of its suppliers must eliminate age discrimination in the hiring process starting in 2025. This policy has shaken the corporate world and caused a strong reaction in society. It is not only a powerful statement of the company's commitment to fair employment, but also reflects Samsung's far-reaching strategic significance in promoting sustainable development from an ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance) perspective. At the same time, this initiative provides an important reference for Chinese companies on how to face workplace fairness and sustainable development.

Workplace equity: the need to break age discrimination

Age discrimination is a hidden but persistent prejudice in the global workplace. Middle-aged and older job seekers are often excluded from interviews due to stereotypes such as “inflexible” and “uninventive,” and this is particularly prevalent in the technology industry.

However, it turns out that experienced employees excel in complex problem solving, leadership and teamwork. By asking suppliers to remove age restrictions from hiring, Samsung is not only reopening the door to the workplace for these candidates, but also demonstrating a strong commitment to social justice.

Interpretation from an ESG perspective: the far-reaching significance behind the policy

From the ESG framework, this policy initiative by Samsung has significant implications:

Social Responsibility:

Promoting Diversity and Inclusion

Diversity in the workplace is not only reflected in gender, race, and culture, but also in age. Employees of different ages have their own strengths in the workplace, with young people being creative and energetic, while senior employees bring a wealth of experience and a global perspective. Samsung's efforts to promote age diversity not only help to break down age discrimination, but also inject more diverse ideas into the organization, thus enhancing its ability to innovate. 

Corporate Governance:

Promoting Supply Chain Responsibility

Samsung not only practices fair employment itself, but also transmits this responsibility through its supply chain. Requiring suppliers to implement this policy is both an effective management of the supply chain and a leadership of the industry rules. Through the establishment of a monitoring mechanism, Samsung has strengthened the transparency and responsibility of its supply chain, setting a benchmark for the sustainable development of the entire industry chain. 

Win-Win for Economic and Social Benefits

Eliminating age discrimination can effectively reduce the waste of social resources. Those job seekers who are rejected due to their age often have rich educational backgrounds and vocational skills. Reactivating this part of the labor force is not only a return on social investment, but also an increase in corporate productivity.

Implications for Chinese enterprises

Samsung's initiative provides Chinese companies with many ideas and experiences that they can learn from: 

Abandon workplace bias and unleash the potential of the labor force

Explicit discrimination, such as age and gender, is still relatively common in the hiring process of Chinese companies. Many companies use 35 years old as an implicit age threshold, restricting experienced middle- and senior-aged talent from entering the workplace. This not only leads to a waste of social resources, but also exacerbates employment challenges. Chinese companies should learn from Samsung's policy and gradually change their stereotypical impression of age to build a more open recruitment mechanism oriented to competence and value.

Focus on social responsibility and enhance brand image

Chinese companies are gradually integrating into the globalized market, and ESG has become one of the important criteria for international investment and cooperation. By taking initiatives similar to Samsung's, actively practicing social responsibility and promoting fairness in the workplace, Chinese companies can enhance their brand reputation and increase their competitiveness in the global market.

Playing the role of an industry leader and leading industry change

As an industry leader, Samsung has set an example for other companies by channeling its fair employment philosophy through its supply chain. China's leading companies, such as Huawei and Alibaba, also have this kind of industry influence. If they can take the lead in practicing similar policies, they will not only promote their own sustainable development, but also lead to the progress of the entire industry through the demonstration effect.

Adapting to policy trends and responding to regulatory changes

With the global focus on workers' rights and interests, workplace fairness is gradually becoming the focus of legislation in various countries. Chinese companies should plan ahead and take the initiative to adjust their recruitment policies, not only to comply with the trend, but also as an inevitable choice to improve their compliance capabilities.

The power to drive industry change

As a global technology giant, Samsung's move has a powerful demonstration effect. It sends an important signal to society that companies should not only focus on financial performance, but also take on social responsibility. Through this policy, Samsung not only promotes its own sustainable development, but also may prompt more companies to re-examine the hidden discrimination in the recruitment process. Chinese companies, especially leading ones, should take a broader view of workplace fairness and move towards high standards of globalization, driven by responsibility and innovation.

Editor's note: Toward a fair and sustainable future

Samsung's policy of eliminating age discrimination is a small step towards workplace fairness, but a big step towards sustainable development. The inspiration of this policy for Chinese enterprises is that building a fairer and more inclusive workplace environment is not only a manifestation of social responsibility, but also a strategic choice for the long-term development of enterprises. Chinese companies should take the initiative to learn from it, start from the recruitment process, and gradually eliminate hidden discrimination such as age, so as to create value for enterprises, employees and society. Only in this way can Chinese enterprises occupy a more favorable position in the tide of global sustainable development, and at the same time contribute to building a fairer workplace environment.