German software company SAP is the only IT firm to have taken a stand against ageism by joining the Employers Forum on Age, set up two weeks ago under the leadership of Howard Davies, deputy governor of the Bank of England.

SAP signed up with the Forum last week, joining members which included British Airways, the BBC, Cadbury Schweppes, Marks & Spencer, WH Smith and Midland Bank.

Freda Line, who works in the membership services division of the Forum, said: æUnfortunately, founder members didnÆt include any IT companies, but we are nevertheless delighted that SAP UK is leading the field.

æThere are too many myths, misconceptions and prejudices about the learning capabilities and skills of older workers, but businesses can benefit from a mixed-age workforce,Æ she said.

Martin Blomley, UK human resources director at SAP, said: æWe were disappointed that we were the only IT representatives supporting the launch of the scheme. The IT industry has a perceived reputation that it employs youngsters - itÆs a fallacy. You need to have a balance of age, sex and race.Æ

Davies said: æMany employers, under pressure to cut their workforce, have operated a policy of removing people who are over 50.Æ

Research carried out last year by recruitment standards body the Institute of Employment Consultants revealed a decline in discrimination against age across all industry sectors over the last 12 months. However, this was thought to be mainly because of skills shortages.