Pastypop Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 This post is geared toward older women in the workforce or newly retired. How have you survived ageism, sexual harassment, not getting fired for reporting sexual harassment, getting put on the mommy track, and gender/pay discrimination over the years? I am amazed nowadays when a woman is actually able to retire on her own accord. What is your secret to success and longevity? There are so many women 40+ who are great workers but getting fired for poor performance now. It’s so hard for many of them to get new jobs. They say older single women will be the largest poverty demographic is ten years and have the second highest suicide rates now. Those of you who have survived this new workforce of firing older workers should teach career survival classes. You would make a small fortune. Link to post Share on other sites
preraph Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 I am 65. I haven't survived it and I will have zero retirement income and keep working as long as I can, so I can't give you the magic formula. I've had to work two jobs a good part of my life to keep a roof over my head. During my one good career run, the men all made way way more money than me and were given stock in the company. I had two separate hitches with that company and all together, had more combined years than any of them except the owners. I survived sexual harassment by having a smart mouth mainly. In my older age, what I've noticed is companies, when hiring new women, seem to only hire young 20-somethings. Especially if it's a guy doing the hiring. That said, because I have a small specialized skill, I have managed to stay employed, mainly self-employed, but also in an office part-time and outlast a lot of them. When I had the chosen career, I used to always be in environments where the bosses had other male buddies and that group fared better than most of the women. My immediate supervisor was keeping me down and trying to be the man at the top of everything and not delegate any positions that took any segments of power away from himself. I got sick of it and wrote a letter, copying the entire board of directors, proposing a need I saw to hand over one segment to one person, for expediency, and they agreed and took that from him and gave it to me. He was not happy. Next thing I knew I was being interviewed in the Business section of the newspaper, and then the VP, who was a newbie - yes, so unfair -- hated me for it because I suppose then he too was feeling threatened. He eventually found a reason to get rid of me. That's how it goes. Not sure how I'll survive once I have no way to work. Probably have to try to move to another state and live in a shack (I can do it. I've done it before) that I can buy outright and try to live on the SS. I'd rather die in my home, but will do whatever it takes when the time comes. My peak earning capacity was in my 30s, and I haven't made any more than that since then, but the cost of living has risen so much in 30 years that you can't live on that now. Unless you're a professional who is in demand, I just don't know any women who progressed as far as earnings once they were over 35 or so. I've only worked for one company (part-time) that had any pension plan. I've only had insurance from a company once. There is a tiny bit of a window of hope in that some employers are starting to realize that older people are sometimes the better bargain, but that's not always the priority. Link to post Share on other sites
stillafool Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 It isn't just women who age that are losing their jobs. Men are too. This age discrimination is going to make a lot of baby boomers broke. Link to post Share on other sites
preraph Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 Yes, but men at an older age probably have been able to have pensions and save money because their value doesn't decline at an early age. Link to post Share on other sites
CautiouslyOptimistic Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 I'm 45, self-employed and have an IRA as my savings for retirement. That and my inheritance when my mom passes away is how I will retire. It's a bit scary to me that I won't be able to retire UNTIL she passes, though..... (I'm single/divorced) The thought of getting back into a regular job scares me a bit at this age, to be honest. I'd love the health insurance, but..... Link to post Share on other sites
d0nnivain Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 Having good boundaries & doing excellent work. I had one job which was chock full of inappropriate comments but all I had to do was give these guys the side eye & it stopped. Granted, one time I punched the big boss in the face but . . . Seriously, we'd been out at a client dinner. We came back to the office late . . .all of the management team, me & 5 guys. The big boss grabbed my butt. I turned & punch him. He was really upset, I shrugged & said "What? I thought were doing offensive touching. You grabbed me. I didn't like it. I punched you. You didn't like. Are we clear on where the boundaries are now?" He threated to fire me. I threatened to sue him. It never happened again. As for the finances, I always lived below my means, save some money for retirement & invested wisely. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
CautiouslyOptimistic Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 The big boss grabbed my butt. I turned & punch him. He was really upset, I shrugged & said "What? I thought were doing offensive touching. You grabbed me. I didn't like it. I punched you. You didn't like. Are we clear on where the boundaries are now?" He threated to fire me. I threatened to sue him. It never happened again. I wanna be you when I grow up. #badass Link to post Share on other sites
d0nnivain Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 I wanna be you when I grow up. #badass Thanks but part of me worries because my reaction was violence. It felt a lot like self defense though. And I do hit like a girl so I didn't do any damage. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Eternal Sunshine Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 I’m just under 40. I can say that I have never experienced any serious sexual harassment. I have strong boundaries and am not afraid to be direct and speak up. I have always been treated worse by other women than by men (though I have met a few exceptional women). On average, women tend to indulge in more drama, petty gossip and jelouses and tend to go out of their way to (sadly) sabotage each other. I’m often drained by those conversations and everyone is less productive as a result. Working around men is much more hassle free. I am currently doing what I can to protect young, gorgeous and talented women from being bullied by more senior women due to from I can see mostly envy of their youth and looks. Unfortunately I have seen that pattern all too often. I also haven’t experienced earnings gap or age discrimination (it only happens in the dating world lol). In fact, I’m more likely to get senior positions now than even 5 years ago and what I earn has also increased. I believe I’m just starting on my way up but obviously I can be wrong. It certainly helps that I have no interest in marriage and children so I haven’t had any career breaks. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
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