014 Experiencing Age Discrimination? Feeling Invisible? Try These Solutions
“My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was sixty. She’s ninety-seven now, and we don’t know where the heck she is!”
Episode Summary:
In this episode, Gloria tackles a sensitive topic that impacts women of all ages: age discrimination. In her experience, Gloria has observed that women of a certain age tend to feel invisible in the workplace and struggle to be heard and remain relevant. She argues that age diversity is just as important to an organization’s growth and bottom line as gender, ethnic, and racial diversity.
Aged employees bring a certain amount of maturity, experience, and skill that younger employees may lack. Gloria cites designer Vera Wang, chef Julia Child, and author Laura Ingalls-Wilder, among others, as examples of successful women who started their famous careers later in life. Finally, Gloria shares two sets of practical tips for how employers and individuals alike can identify signs of age discrimination and address them accordingly.
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Resources
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Learn more about Take The Lead’s Leadership Tools.
Blog Post: 50,000 Shades of Gray: Will Silver Hair Help or Hinder You As A Leader?
Blog Post: Older, Wiser, Unwanted: Shifting From Ageism To Equality In Workplace
MarketWatch: It’s time to celebrate what older women bring to the workplace
Video: The Newest Workforce Disruptors are Over 50! | Donna Korren | TEDxChelsea
Books Mentioned
[Take The Lead participates in the Amazon Associates program and may receive compensation for qualifying purchases made through the following links.]
In This Together: How Successful Women Support Each Other in Work and Life, by Dr. Nancy O’Reilly
No Excuses: 9 Ways Women Can Change How We Think About Power, by Gloria Feldt
Social Links
Gloria’s Website & Social Media
Take The Lead’s Website and Social Media
Quotes / Tweetables
“Many women say they feel invisible after fifty no matter how much value they know they have to contribute.”
“Whereas wrinkles, grey hair and a weathered face often cause people to view men as looking more distinguished or successful even into their ninth decade or beyond, a woman with grey hairs and wrinkles is more likely to be seen as over-the-hill, unattractive, and to be passed over for advancement.”
“Laws banning age discrimination may be in place, but laws don’t necessarily change the workplace culture. Systematic solutions are needed, for starters.”
“In the end, age diversity is as important as gender or ethnic and racial diversity to improving innovation and adding to the bottom line.”
“Designer Vera Wang didn’t design her first dress until she was forty years old. Julia Child was fifty when she wrote her first cookbook. Laura Ingalls-Wilder, writer of the Little House on the Prairie series, didn’t write the series’ first book, Little House in the Big Woods, until she was sixty-five.”
“Reframe your age in your own mind and in the way you speak to prospective employers as a competitive advantage. You have the skills, wisdom, and experience that every organization needs. Even youth organizations need the stability of older generations and the value of cross-generational mentorship.”