As the pay equality wage gap war rages on, new research from a government report suggests that a woman’s career plateaus at the ripe old age of 45. Dr. Rose Altmann, the author of the report, disclosed to The UK’s Telegraph why women’s careers are in danger at 45 and what we can do to change this harrowing fact.
In her work with the Business Champion for Older Workers, Dr. Altmann discovered an age bias against women prevented them from promotions within their chosen field. After interviewing HR executives, she found that “talent progression stops for women around age 45, and for men, 55.” Ageism has obviously always been an issue in the workplace, but for it to be more of a problem in women than in men is just absurd.
So, not only do women have to fight sexism in their workplace, but ageism as well? Two natural, unpreventable aspects of yourself are apparently huge set backs in a woman’s career. Fantastic.
Women denied advancement within their careers due to favoritism towards younger applicants have been found to simply leave their industry due to lack of progression. With highly developed skills, and years of experience, their talent is wasted thanks to outdated stereotypes that value looks and youth over aptitude.
So, women can look forward to lower paid jobs and hitting the dreaded glass ceiling once you’re 45? At this point in time, yes. However, age and gender discrimination can and will be eradicated through harsher penalties for companies that do discriminate, and aiding in supplying proper management training for all businesses. Altmann also suggests a whistle-blowing process to eliminate risk for those who report age and gender discrimination. Fingers crossed this happens sooner rather than later.
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