Overqualified

This week I celebrated my birthday. Every birthday gets me thinking about the last year, what I’ve accomplished and what I still want to do. This year I’m incredibly grateful for everything I’ve experienced. Yet, each passing year is a subtle reminder of what happens as women age. No one wants to discuss it, no one dares utter the word “age discrimination” for fear they will be included in this “invisible” sorority, but for those who qualify it is real, frightening and more frequent than we’d like to believe.

I recently reached out to a few of the women in my book club, specifically those included in the amazing book, “Geek Girl Rising”. I asked them about the ratio of women in their organizations, specifically the number of women over 55. I received zero responses from the startups regarding age. I did, however, hear from other women in healthcare and tech, currently experiencing ageism.

A recent PBS News Hour article by Teresa Ghilarducci stated, “ It’s going to be a bigger problem, this age discrimination problem, for women as more and more women are having to work longer, because of divorce, or because they have eroded pensions, or lower pensions, because even if they worked their whole life, they were paid less, and so they accumulated less pensions.” Age discrimination is going to create a population of very low-income and vulnerable elderly. And what’s really depressing about this study is that that women are going to be hurt worse than men.”

Visibility of CEOs like IBM’s Ginni Rometty, GM’s Mary Barra and HP’s Meg Whitman may give the illusion that America is finally embracing female leadership. That’s not true. At America’s Largest Companies, Just 7 Percent Of CEOs Are Women, according to DiscoverOrg.

According to The National Institute on Retirement Security, Women are 80 percent more likely than men to be impoverished at age 65 and older, while women between the ages of 75 to 79 are three times more likely than men to be living in poverty.

So, what does this mean? It means that gender disparity has long time consequences. It means that as we age, we are invited less frequently to parties, conversations, and the negotiation table. Younger workers with less education, experience and knowledge are scooped up by recruiters. We are asked to work for less, calls are never returned, or we are deemed “over qualified”.

As I celebrate another milestone, I get up early to walk dogs, a benefit of the “gig economy” that I’ve had to embrace. As I drink coffee with my roommate (house sharing is another new normal), I wonder when I will give up my car, ( PS I did), be forced to downsize, possibly even sell my home.

These are realities for women over 55. Unless we do more to combat age discrimination, so that older women find it easier to stay in the workforce, we are going to see women displaced at two times the ratio of men in the same age bracket.

The New York Times published an excellent article recently, titled,” Hire Your Mother”. ” Today’s 30- and 40-somethings can’t “lean in” forever. If they don’t address embedded ageism, they’ll blink, pass 50, and possibly see their success evaporate faster than a boss can say, “Sorry, we’re going in another direction.”

I in 5 Americans will be 65 and above in 2030. We are all hyper-aware of gender bias in today’s climate, but age and gender bias is a subconscious prejudice that does not attract the same level of urgency as other forms of discrimination.