Bridging the Gap

Making nice over workplace generational divides

Being a woman is tough. Aging is tough. Being a woman who is aging is doubly tough. Ageism is still a very accepted ‘ism’ and often, as women, it comes from within our own ranks. Be it female-led beauty brands peddling ‘anti-aging’ products, or women over 40 being completely written off by younger women - we can, at times, be our own worst enemies.

But given that we know it’s hard, why do we make it hard for one another? It feels like at this point in time, we are perfectly positioned to understand each other more. Technology, online communities, social media - these things can all be leveraged for us to see each others perspectives. We cannot preach about how we want to be valued, if we are not first valuing ourselves and each other, across generational divides.

In my early career, starting out, I had the misfortune of working with female bosses who really did not want to see me succeed. I feel for those of us in our 40s, the generation above us fought super hard to get to their positions, so when we were in our twenties, starting out, we were a threat. I worked in media and often did not find women in the industry to be welcoming, encouraging or helpful. It was really disheartening.