[w1ntermute]

Even if the manager's "skills" were good, he wouldn't be respected by the working parents. If he somehow hid his age, virginity, and not having a family (obviously difficult in practice), his reports would probably treat him differently.

[onion2k]

If a product manager has the skills and ability to do a good job but a team member is refusing to work with them due to their age, marital situation, whether they have children, etc, then the problem isn't the manager. If I was responsible for that team I'd seriously consider removing that team member.

[w1ntermute]

That's a nice sentiment in theory, but hiring is difficult for most companies (everyone wants to work for the usual suspects, after all). You often can't afford to remove skilled employees because they're being petty. Plus, the executives are probably also older and have kids, so they might agree with the team members' viewpoint.