Hi Avri,
It may not be line a hiring manager, but all those who have budget can make it
a point to make sure some of the younger engineers get to some of the
meetings, at least the ones that are relatively local to them. I assume that
many of the older participants, have the means to influence the travel lists.
For years there have been people working on the gender balance perhaps some
focus on the age balance may become appropriate.
My experience in selecting people who go to standards organizations is a bit
different. Managers typically don't pick people based on discussion skills,
social kills, communication + language skills, writing skills, hair color,
etc. Instead, those who suggest topics and raise their hand at the right
time go to meetings and work on selected topics. There are not that many
people available who are interested in this type of work.
Then, there is an incredible stickiness for staying within the same
organization. If you have started attending 3GPP meetings then you typically
go there forever. You may switch groups and topics (within an organization)
but you rarely see people switching organizations.
In the telecommunication industry you have also seen a lot of layoffs over
the last 10 years and so there are rarely young people around in these
companies anymore (because they either got fired or left the company
voluntarily).
Ciao
Hannes