It doesn’t matter how much society as a whole appears to accept 55+ women, they don’t. Not even in the US where baby boomer women are, in many ways, more out there than elsewhere. Or are there just more of them?!
I found it really interesting that one of the most popular blog posts I’ve written lately was about a little old lady dealing with an obstreperous young man at a check-out! Successfully …
Why was it so successful?
Well, at a specific point in our lives, and it varies from woman to woman, we feel:
□ the inexorable creep of approaching age (I’m not even going to mention Menopause!)
□ as though we’re being sucked out by the tide
□ we’ve moved onto shifting sand since we turned 50 and beyond, 60 and beyond and yes, 70 and beyond.
Ageism is alive and well
We find ourselves still being largely ignored, and before you say “Oh no”, look at “Oprah and Helen Mirren. They’re both over 50 and nobody ignores them!”, let’s remind ourselves that they are very much media figures. Oprah is worth squillions of dollars and is the darling of all American women, and Helen Mirren is just the darling of nearly all women. American or not.
But back to the being largely ignored part and the Cloak of Invisibility … have you tried getting a job as a woman over 50? No? Don’t bother. Trust me, having been through the process, and despite the protestations of government bodies about promoting employment of the over 50s, it’s unlikely you’ll be successful and find something that is a match for you and your talents. You may be lucky, but when they see your DOB you may not last long …
While we’re on the subject of equal opportunity for the over 50s, and I have no idea in whose lifetime that will happen, let’s talk about the ridiculous belief of many and the almost relentless government propaganda that Agism is a thing of the past. Really? Have any of these people ever actually been part of the real world? If they work in government … nobody is going to discriminate against them. Right?! Unless you happen to be a female over 50 and then all bets are off …
Add Sexism to the Ageing equation
How can I write about being a woman over 50 without mentioning sexism? I know, we are constantly being told it no longer exists (just like agism no longer exists … huh!). Who are the idiots that are trying to perpetuate these beliefs, and why do they so frequently report this lie as being the truth? Sexism is rampant … walk out onto the street and ask any woman over 50 (and even younger), if they have been passed over for promotion because management has seen fit to hand the position to a man with fewer qualification, less experience and an inability to establish rapport with the women who do his job for him? Of course, if you are offered the position, your salary will be less than that of any man!
Women continue to draw the short straw
Even today women still seem to be drawing the short straw. How many women do you know, whether they be 30+, 40+ or 50+, who started a career with high hopes and great expectations of what they could (and should) achieve in their professional life, and now have a permanent headache from crashing into the glass ceiling? Perhaps you’re one of them …
As baby boomers, we were around when the Women’s Movement began in earnest, No previous generation has had what we’ve had or caused society to change to such a great extent (think tights/panty hose, mini-skirts and jeans – huge societal change in dressing!). But realistically we still don’t have equal pay for equal work. It really isn’t rocket science … but it IS ageism …
Why are so many of us loathe to stand up and be counted? Why aren’t we all more vocal … not just the few? Do we really want our daughters and granddaughters to live our experiences or do we want them to live in a world of equality? Anonymous is a Woman is a great read if you’re after more on this subject.
If you’re still worried about what your family or your friends or the man down the road will think of you if you speak out on something that distresses you, get over it! Life is too short not to step into your own power and become the woman you were always meant to be. This is a topic I wrote about last week … The Opinion of Others
Ask yourself the question … if not now, when?
If you would like to know more about gender equality throughout the world The Pew Research Center makes for interesting reading, especially when you look at how well and how badly different countries perform.…
