A Woman of a "Certain" Age | by Adaobi Nwachuku

A couple of weeks ago while getting a manicure, I was chatting to the male manicurist about a popular actor who got on the stage of an award ceremony and slapped the comedian who was presenting that segment of the ceremony. Apparently, the actor felt that one of the comedian’s jokes was at his wife’s expense. 

We chatted amiably as he filed my nails and then he uttered ‘I don’t know what he is doing with her, she is old! man!’.  Oblivious or ignoring my stunned silence, he continued with ‘ so many young girls out there, why is he still with that old woman?’ Not that it matters, but the actor is in his fifties and his wife is in her forties! I asked him if he was married, and he said no. I asked him how old he was and guess what? He was in his forties. 

Unfortunately, he is not alone in his sentiments about  ‘older women’ because even though we have progressed in leaps and bounds from times gone by when emperors’ old wives or consorts (those that were not killed or forced to commit suicide) were retired to a distant palace, never to be seen or heard from again, the modern workplace does not seem to recognize the value of the older female workforce. I am not talking about Hollywood, where beautiful actresses of a certain age suddenly find themselves not booking jobs or only booking jobs where they are a ‘mom’ or ‘grandma,’ this is the everyday workplace where capable women are having difficulties securing or holding on to jobs because they are over a certain age. 

According to an article published in HRDIVE¹, researchers at Anglia Ruskin University sent in fake applications that included the fictional job seekers' age and ethnic background to 811 sales and service jobs in England and found that,

• A 28-year-old white man is three times more likely to secure a job interview than a 50-year-old black woman and two times more likely to do so than a 50-year-old white woman.² 
• Young white men's applications were 2.3 times more likely to be selected than those of 50-year-old white women. 
• Fifty-year-old women were interviewed for jobs paying 14% less than the positions for which young, white men interviewed. 50-year-old black women’s potential positions paid about $3,283 less than young, white men. 

The other nuances in the above, will not be explored here. 

Apparently, women are expected to crunch their achievements into a timetable that often lasts less than 20 years, “Find a partner, raise children and zoom to the top of their field, checking each box by 50” according to an article in the New York times.

So, you are a female in your forties or fifties, and you have not managed to check every or any of these boxes, what then? 

A member of a hiring committee of a nonprofit's board of trustees, recounts their experience of when they worked with a recruitment agency to fill a CEO vacancy in the organisation and the agency asked them if they wanted to screen out women over fifty from the candidate pool because most of their clients would not consider them. 

Bleak outlook for women like me, who are finding their calling working later in life. I for one did not have a clue about what I wanted to do with my life in my twenties, all I knew was that I had to attain a certain level of education, and then hopefully things would figure themselves out. It was not until my youngest child went to secondary school, that some semblance of a career trajectory started manifesting. Unfortunately, this is the time that employers are looking for younger talent.

Older women in long-time careers do not seem to fare better than their counterparts trying to enter or re-enter the workforce. A Forbes article describes the account of Meredith, a woman with a record of excellent performance, who received five individual awards and over fifteen team awards, earned her status of Managing Director with hard work and dedication over twenty-two years was youthful, savvy, and hip.  However, she was in her fifties, and considered a dinosaur by her co-workers who disrespected her, labelled her old-fashioned, and forced her out of her job.

We certainly do not see this with the menfolk who are respected and considered to have more value as they get older. They are seen in higher positions, while their female counterparts are passed over for promotions, marginalised, and pushed out to make room for younger employees. The unfortunate reasoning behind this treatment of women is that women are being judged by their looks compared to men. Research shows that men are viewed as more valuable and competent in the workplace as they age. Women lose their credibility with every new wrinkle. 

The effect of this is that women of a certain age go for roles that they are grossly overqualified for, and stay in those roles for safety as there is little competition and they are not likely to be pushed out. There is also a reluctance to train up, because ‘What is the point?’ The advice given to older jobseekers to reduce the amount of experience on their CVs and omit dates of educational achievement etc. is problematic because it screams ‘we value your perceived youth more than any of the amazing experiences you have garnered throughout your working life!’   Then you are invited for an interview on the back of your CV with the edited experience, will you be able to attend with edited wrinkles? 
Workplaces, and indeed people who think like my manicurist, miss so much when they do not see the value older women add to work and life in general; and here are some reasons why workplaces should value this segment of the workforce. 

1. According to a 2012 report by Dow Jones, companies with at least one female senior executive are more likely to succeed than companies that have only men at the top. Venture-based start-ups with five or more women onboard are significantly more successful than those without.
2.  Older workers can bring deep knowledge, well-honed interpersonal skills, better judgement, and a more balanced perspective to the workplace.
3. Research shows that older workers are reliable, handle stress well, master new skills, and are the most engaged workers when offered the chance to grow and advance.
4. Older workers might take longer to do a task, but they make fewer mistakes
5. Young employees are always filled with fresh and innovative ideas which are valuable to a company, but organisations more often than not turn to the older more experienced worker to solve problems.
6. No skill or experience is wasted. All the multitasking, diplomacy and empathy skills it takes to run a home, raise a family and tutor children are an invaluable addition to running any organisation. 

So if, like me, you are a woman of a certain age, trying to get into a career and climb ladders, do not be deflated by the no’s. Go for the training, know your worth, keep doing you, and very soon the world will see your shine!

 ¹UK employers consistently favour younger workers in recruiting | HR Dive

² https://www.cambridgenetwork.co.uk/news/older-job-applicants-less-likely-to-get-an-interview/

Adaobi Nwachuku is in the Project Management programme at Multiverse and has been writing for the Apprentice Lens.