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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to wonder where the women over 50 are in the workforce?

245 replies

Waferbiscuit · 21/11/2021 20:16

I'm over 50 and I've noticed a very obvious trend of women leaving the workforce at around my age. Throughout my 40s I saw many women my age move to part-time, but they were still visible. Now I go into meetings (I attends lots of cross-org plus city-wide/region-wide meetings) and I never see women my age or older.

Anecdotally the four women my age who I worked alongside have all left their roles to do a bit of consultancy work or stop working altogether.

Is it just my sector or is this trend something other people are seeing in their line of work? Are women at 50 leaving the workforce because of caring responsibilities? Of course not all women have caring responsibilities so are they leaving because their other half (if they have a partner) makes more money? Or is the workforce just breaking people, so by 50 women stand up and say 'I've had enough' ??? Genuinely curious.

OP posts:
Shedmistress · 21/11/2021 21:02

I left this year because my role was made redundant and as I couldn't stand all the fuckwittage any longer, we decided to retire early and move to France.

I would happily work again but not for someone else. I've had a my absolute fill of bad managers.

Shedmistress · 21/11/2021 21:03

Aged 54

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 21/11/2021 21:03

I think 1 in 3 women leave due to menopause.

Crippling anxiety for me. Couldn’t cope any more. I’ll health retirement and l got out.

Feel so much better not rushing, not having brain overloaded, being in constant pain and exhausted.

LiquidSodaCrystal · 21/11/2021 21:03

It’s a great question. There’s no women in my company over 50. But my pension is supposed to kick in when I’m 68. Where is everyone?!

dreamingofsun · 21/11/2021 21:03

got fed up taking shit from my boss and could afford to resign so i did. Couldnt say the blue chip comms company i worked for was ageist, but some managers definately were - ie been told to my face that boss would have preferred to have had someone younger.

GoodnightGrandma · 21/11/2021 21:07

Two older women in my workplace left recently. Both due to menopause symptoms, and both could take their personal pension.

Egghead68 · 21/11/2021 21:08

I’m in my 50s and working but finding it increasingly hard with the menopause, health problems and ageing parents. I m trying to keep going till 55 then I might just do part-time self employed work. Lots of 50- and 60- something women around me are still working (NHS).

StCharlotte · 21/11/2021 21:08

I'm late 50s and still working FT. In a firm of about 30 people, there are four of us and another three in their 60s.

I have no caring responsibilities and have never had any kind of break from work (other than annual leave) since I started working 40 years ago. But I'm tired and will be out of the door on my 60th birthday.

AnFiadhRua · 21/11/2021 21:09

I wonder this too, and my field is diverse where jobs are protected, you can't just be fired for ageing but yet, I think I'm the oldest woman at 51.

It's depressing. I would love more people my age.

AnFiadhRua · 21/11/2021 21:10

@LiquidSodaCrystal

It’s a great question. There’s no women in my company over 50. But my pension is supposed to kick in when I’m 68. Where is everyone?!
This is what I wonder about........................
AvocadoPlant · 21/11/2021 21:11

I’m mid fifties and hopefully over the worst of the menopause, it looks like some posters are saying they retired on grounds of ill health because of the menopause. Have I read that correctly? And if do can I ask is this in large public sector workplaces?

BestIsWest · 21/11/2021 21:11

58, technical role in IT. Just cut down to 4 days though because of caring responsibilities for parent.

BadgeronaMoped · 21/11/2021 21:13

Lots of women in their 50s and 60s in the area I'm currently retraining in (radiography), it's nice.

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 21/11/2021 21:14

Mine was a large public sector workplace, but l went with mental health issues. Although they were caused by the menopause.

I think it’s worth pointing out that you also get much titedef suddenly in your 50’s and it becomes harder to work as hard as in the past.

And also, l just couldn’t be arsed with brown nosing or competing with 20soneyjjbgs…

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 21/11/2021 21:14

Somethings.

1967buglet · 21/11/2021 21:14

I’m 55. Went part time and will retire in a couple years because we have enough in the pension, mortgage paid off and no kids to worry about. I’d had enough really with a high stress professional job. It is so nice to WFH and be able to get enough sleep and not rush around any more.

user0176 · 21/11/2021 21:14

I recently attended a menopause awareness thing and was shocked at the percentage of women who leave the work place as a direct response to menopausal symptoms (but not enough to remember the stat sorry argh)

user1471541711 · 21/11/2021 21:15

Interesting . I work in a supermarket . A few women over 50 working as paying rent due to losing out in divorce settlements.

expatmigrant · 21/11/2021 21:15

Late 50's here and went part-time last year and have decided to finish end march. Financially secure so DH and I want to be more flexible with to do as we wish. We both have skills that can be transferred to the voluntary sector. I'm also a keen cyclist so will be annoying those drivers even more Wink

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 21/11/2021 21:18

User0176, l think it’s one in three.

flowerarrangement · 21/11/2021 21:19

I'm early fifties and run an organisation. I can't afford to retire until state retirement age post divorce. No ageism in my sector, in fact most senior people are over 50.

I've just recruited a woman in her late 50s, full time post, new to the field.

I would have probably retired at 60 if I had stayed married.

HuntingoftheSnark · 21/11/2021 21:20

I'm 52, chartered accountant for nearly 30 years, work in industry. My manager is mid fifties and female. I see plenty of women my age still working full time in similar roles.

RockingMyFiftiesNot · 21/11/2021 21:21

Didn't see a huge difference in my industry. Heavily male dominated, high pressure corporate environment but I didn't notice proportionately more women leaving than men. Possibly because pensions weren't worth having if you left at 50 so most would hang on til 55 at least. I did see more men staying beyond that age but often that was because they had children still in education (less likely for women in their late 50s) and in a couple of cases because their wives had agreed to look after the grandchildren so they would rather continue working than do childcare. Seriously!

crowsfeet57 · 21/11/2021 21:21

My last two jobs I have seen women over 50 being hounded out.

My last job they got rid of everyone over 60 by doing a sack and rehire, perfectly legal apparently. They then offered such onerous working conditions, that most couldn't accept. One person requested certain working days that she was refused while the job was actually being advertised with the very same working hours.

The job before that managed to get rid of most women there over 50, by putting some departments through a major restructure. The ones they missed they managed to get with a second restructure 6 months later.

I wouldn't have believed this could happen, but it did.

TheHateIsNotGood · 21/11/2021 21:24

Life went all the other way round for me - due to caring responsibilities for ds (autism) my full participation in the workforce was seriously curtailed at 40.

No man/partner to fall back on and too busy to even think about it and scraped by as self-employed so far.

I can work more now, but I'm 59 and despite decades of work experience no one wants me, not even ASDA for a few hours working the night shift.

And I'm in good health compared to many my age and even younger.