A new national survey by More magazine found that 87% of the population believes that women experience age discrimination at some point in their lives. The study also found that men are not immune. One in five men and women aged 40-60 believe being over 40 has hurt them professionally, with those over 55 almost twice as likely (32%) than those 40-54 (18%) to admit that it has damaged their chances of getting a new job.

The survey, conducted by Data Development Worldwide (DDW) for More, is based on a telephone sample of 1,002 men and women ages 18 and older and is part of More's Breaking the Age Barrier special report appearing in the November 2008 issue, on newsstands October 28th.

We are not shocked to learn that age discrimination exists, said Lesley Jane Seymour, editor in chief of More. But we are surprised that people aren't more vocal about it. Racism and sexism are very much in the news every day, but silence surrounds ageism even in a year when John McCain jokes run rampant on late night television.

There also seems to be a gender divide when it comes to ageism: men and women agree that discrimination begins four years earlier for women.  Women say age discrimination begins at 43 for women and 47 for men; on the other hand, men believe that it begins at age 42 for women and 46 for men.

Still, some celebrities seem to buck the ageism issue. Respondents voted Demi Moore, 45, the sexiest 40+ celeb at 46%, and Michelle Pfeiffer, 50, and Denzel Washington, 53, tied at 44% for second place.

Other key poll results:

• Men and women aged 18-39 are twice as likely (43%) than 40-60 year olds (21%) to believe that age discrimination begins before age 40 for women.
• Twice as many men as women (13% to 7%) believe that being over 40 has HELPED them get a job.

More's Breaking the Age Barrier Special Report includes an analysis of the current ageism landscape as it affects women over 40, including personal stories, updates on women's legal rights, advice from attorneys and human resource consultants, and sidebars on when employees should seek legal counsel and what is and is not legal in terms of discrimination.

Additionally, More's cover stars Jane Fonda, Sharon Stone and T a Leoni discuss how they make their age work for them and 12 prominent women, including Judy Collins, Amy Tan, Liz Smith and Martina Navratilova, pose in bold Own Your Age tees and admit their ages.