Episode 199: Age and Possibility

The Broad Experience

Careers, Society & Culture, Business

5.0 • 592 Ratings

🗓️ 30 November 2022

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Ageism and sexism are sometimes described as a double-whammy that hits women later in life. Which is a bit worrying, because I’m 52 and wrapping up this show after a decade of production. Onto new things - I hope!

My first guest lives in New Zealand and recently got back into the workforce in her fifties after being out for more than a decade. It feels like that notorious double-whammy is hitting her, yet it’s impossible to truly measure. She wants people to know that many 50-plus women aren’t coasting on a sea of contentment and financial security.

Avivah Wittenberg-Cox agrees that ageism is rampant, but says we need to re-frame things if we’re going to improve life for older workers. And that starts with educating employers about the advantages of maintaining and engaging 50-plus employees, a group that includes more women than ever before. It’s up to us to do our part as well, she says, including “recognizing that usually what got you here isn't going to get you through the next phase.” As usual she's sprouting with ideas that I plan to use in my own next phase.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	The road stretches before you, but there's trouble ahead, stationary cars.
0:04.0	You're faced with the McDonald's side mission.
0:06.7	Do you, A, join the ever-growing queue, or B, take the next exit and treat yourself to a glorious Mackey's?
0:15.0	Detouring to McDonald's.
0:16.6	Start your side mission today.
0:30.0	Thank you. Start your side mission today. Welcome to the broad experience, the show about women, the workplace, and success.
0:35.0	I'm Ashley Meltight.
0:37.1	This time, different perspectives on what it means to be an
0:41.3	older woman at work. As I'm now coming back into the workplace as a more senior looking person,
0:50.2	I am seen as either, well, I must be past it, or she's not the one who needs to go on the leadership programs or just keep her where she is.
1:02.3	It's time to start letting our hair go gray.
1:05.0	I think it's going to be one of the militant struggles of the next decade is to get women in power with enough confidence and
1:13.7	courage to do it and then just dare their workplaces to let them go. We greatly need more
1:20.9	role models of what positive aging looks like. Age and possibility. Coming up on the Broad Experience.
1:38.8	This topic feels quite pertinent to me because I started the broad experience at 41. I was one of the oldest
1:45.7	by many years on the entrepreneurial journalism program where I launched the podcast. I'm now 52 and
1:52.4	wrapping up the show after more than a decade. And of course I'm thinking about what comes next
1:58.2	and how easy or not it'll be to land work in a world that worships
2:03.0	youth. I'm hopeful, but I'm not going to pretend that I'm not a bit worried as well.
2:09.2	Ageism and sexism are often described as the double whammy that hits women later in life.
2:15.4	For Anthea Ogilfie, the negatives that can come with being an older woman at work
2:19.7	came as a shock. She lives in Auckland, New Zealand. She's in her 50s and she works as a facilitator
	...

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