Why is the reservoir of mature women being ignored?
The Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI) and the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) recently released their fourth report on the employment climate for older workers. Despite making up 20% of the workforce, workers aged 55 and above only account for 4% of employment growth. Ageist employment practices were found in one-sixth of organizations, while only a quarter of HR professionals said they were open to hiring workers aged 65 and above.
The report recommends employers prioritise older workers when developing diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies. Only half of organizations surveyed offer training and development opportunities for older workers, which is the lowest rate since the survey began.
We live in an ageist society and for women, the problem is even worse. A man with grey hair in a suit is thought to look distinguished. A grey-haired woman in business attire is just considered, well,…. old.
A recent report by The McKell Institute reveals horrifying statistics about unemployment and underemployment amongst older women. It cites barriers such as caring responsibilities, costs associated with training and employment, and insufficient digital literacy barring participation, as some of the significant challenges. Interestingly, there is no mention of the challenges that women face through the years of menopause. Older women are particularly vulnerable because they have accumulated lower superannuation balances than men at the same age and are increasingly at risk of homelessness as part of the housing affordability crisis.
Men aged 25–29 were the biggest demographic on JobSeeker in 2001. In 2023, women over 60 are the biggest, with men over 60 being the second highest. A closer look at the figures shows that in 2001, women represented a lower proportion of Jobseeker recipients in every age cohort, than men. Today, that is true only until the age of 40, after which age women far outnumber men as Jobseeker recipients. So the problem for women actually begins as young as 40.
Why are we tolerating this? Quite apart from the inequity and the damaging effect on the women involved, we are ignoring the vast reservoir of talent that could be deployed to alleviate the talent shortage in some critical industries and professions. The McKell Institute report recommends more funding for older women to help them transition into dignified, secure work. But this is trying to fix the problem by fixing the women. How about we try to fix the system that causes the problem in the first place? If you are in a position of power and influence in your organisation, what can you do to address this issue in your workplace? We need to shift the way we think about older women. Just like older men, they have decades of valuable experience and possibly the wisdom to know what to do with it, that could be leveraged by smart businesses. It’s time for a change.
© Melissa Richardson, 2023