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

[Waferbiscuit]

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.

Im 51 and I dont have any menopause symptoms. Well i did have v heavy periods but i just take the mini pill and thats sorted.

I only get hot flushes if i drink alcohol. And i can hide that. I dont react. Obviously im not drinking at work.

Im not diminishing other 50 somethings' experiences but i seem fine and dont have any aches or pains or migrains or brain fog.

So i dont think we should all be preparing for difficulties in these years

My menopause was a walk in the park physically, a bit of a car crash mentally. Horrible mood swings, anxiety and panic attacks

At what age? @counsellorTroi

@AnFiadhRua51 is relatively young to be considering your menopause over and done with. I didn’t have a period after 50 and seemed fine but I was 55 when the full impact hit me. I hope you’ll be luckier. HRT sorted me out.

@bizboz

There is a noticeable lack of female teachers in their 50s. This age group - experienced and more expensive - is often targeted during the academisation process. I've seen it happen several times. I am in my 40s and will need to keep teaching through my 50s as I'll need the money. I do worry about being "managed out" at some stage or coping if I struggle with the menopause . It's a job where you do need to remember lots of things and be on the ball the whole time.

Totally agree-there are hardly any female teachers over 50, unless SLT.

If I’m ‘managed out’ for being crap (or expensive as it’s otherwise known) at 50, what do I do for the next 17 years until I can collect my pension?’m!

I retired in my early 50s because I was so floored by the menopause that it was impossible to continue.

Also I could afford to and I'd reached a stage of life where my free time was much more important to me than money.

Blimey. Im a single parent. I need to keep going til 67 menopause or not. 😒
I will go 4 days a week from 60 though.

This is an interesting post and has made me realise that I don't have many work colleagues my age (early 50s). I work in the private sector in a middle management role. The menopause has also floored me and I no longer have the passion and drive for my job that I used to have. Wish I could afford to retire early but I still have a few years left on the mortgage (divorced at 40 and started again).

@AnFiadhRua

At what age? *@counsellorTroi*

Early 50s.

Thanks
Hopefully Ill be relatively unaffected 🤞. I cant afford to be floored by menopause.

This really scares me as financially I will need to keep working until retirement, but there aren’t many women at all older than about 52-55 in my company and it is massive. I imagine I will be managed out by the time I get to about that age, even though I am good at what I do. I am 47 now and have decided not to move jobs again until this happens so at least I will get a decent pay out based on length of service. No idea what I could do next. My lifelong dream has been to be a tour guide so maybe I could give that a go!

I think that's wise mummadeze
This is scary to read.

I wanted to be unaffected too. But it floored me.

No one expects to be floored by the menopause. It’s difficult to describe how awful it can be though. Even HRT doesn’t seem to get rid of all the symptoms for me (though it helps massively).

I couldn’t tolerate HRT

It'd be so embarrassing to take time off with menopause. One problem at a time. I work to strict deadlines atm and it is pretty hectic. I would like to move to another team where it's less frenetic.

You don’t take time off with ‘menopause’ as such.

I was off with anxiety.

Triggered by the menopause.

@Egghead68

No one expects to be floored by the menopause. It’s difficult to describe how awful it can be though. Even HRT doesn’t seem to get rid of all the symptoms for me (though it helps massively).

I had no inkling at all that I would be so badly affected either. I still can't believe just how disabled I became at one point.

HRT has reduced the severity of the symptoms and I'm under the care of a specialist. It'll be a long time before I come off HRT if I ever do. We have tried a couple of times but the symptoms come back in full force within a couple of months.

It's crap

@AnFiadhRua

It'd be so embarrassing to take time off with menopause. One problem at a time. I work to strict deadlines atm and it is pretty hectic. I would like to move to another team where it's less frenetic.

Why should we be ashamed or embarrassed to be menopausal though??

It'd be so embarrassing to take time off with menopause. One problem at a time

This is why it needs bringing out into the open. Why are you embarrassed?

Well back on topic, if i worked with older women id just say it! I WISH the age spread at work was wider. Im the oldest woman by at least 5 years. Then 45, 39, 35, 32, 32 and a few early 20 somethings.

The youngest person in our team is 30 and on long term sick. The next youngest is 42, we have another who I reckon is mid 40s, and the rest of us are 50+. I am the oldest at 63.

Due to the nature of the job experience and reliability is preferred, which is probably why we have so many older women on the team.

I'm 50 and will keep working til 67 - divorce fucked me over financially.

As an older gen x-er I could have been in a completely different financial situation and I think lots of my friends are - with mortgages paid off and decent pensions.

I would assume that women ten or fifteen years younger than me will have to work right up to state retirement age as mortgages are much bigger and pensions less generous

@TracyLords

I’m 40: sadly I don’t see that many older women in senior roles in the company I work for. The only very senior women that I have known at work have been child free: whereas most of the senior men have kids.

I see this too. Of the very top level of women, few have kids. Luckily, the next layer of management down includes women in their 50s with older kids, so I hope it’s a generational thing. The most senior woman in my organisation is probably early to mid 50s, with no kids.

IMO lots of older women are in local government - teachers, social workers, OTs, carers, admin, cleaners, call centre. Our staff profile is majority female and over 50.