No age is the right age for a woman to be in a leadership position?!

With an increasingly diverse and multi-generational workforce, age bias now occurs across the career life cycle.

Leadership opportunities for younger women are often limited- whether intentionally or not- by the assumption of lack of experience.

Middle-aged women are thought of as difficult to manage for having too many family responsibilities or for having menopause related issues.

Women who are older are often constrained by perceptions that they are no longer invested in the organization, are less productive, or cannot be promoted.

Originally, ageism was understood to be prejudice, stereotypes, and discriminatory behavior targeted at older employees, driven by the misperception that performance worsens and capacity decreases as people age.

Now, young and middle-aged women employees are also discriminated, based on their age.

“Youngism” refers to ageism toward younger adults and is fueled by the conflation of age with maturity and the misperception that tenure is required for competency.

Young women and those who look young often experience "Role Incredulity".

When young women go to a business meeting, attend a conference or a networking event with their male colleagues, they are often mistaken for students, interns, trainees, secretaries, assistants, support staff, wife/girlfriend of the male colleagues etc. An executive who appears young is mostly presumed to be in a junior position.

Many younger women also experience "Credibility Deficit", which occurs when women’s statements, accomplishments and expertise are not believed or given due credibility.

Many women are often told- "You don’t have enough experience to be in a leadership role" or often pressed to "provide a synopsis of their accomplishments to establish credibility”. In the face of such bias, women must always expend extra effort and time to assert and prove themselves.

The incessant pressure to look young and attractive is something that typically impacts women more than men. If a woman wears makeup or dresses very well, it is a problem. If she does not wear makeup or does not power dress, again it is a problem. Younger women always have their looks and appearance scrutinized. I have personally experienced this- After I gave a very good presentation that I'm very proud of, someone in the audience told me that “you looked beautiful up there! or I loved your dress!”, instead of giving feedback about my presentation.

"Oldism" refers to ageism towards older women and it is fueled by the thought that older women are unworthy of advancement.

As women age, they are often not seen as valuable or relevant in the way their male counterparts are.

While men become "wells of wisdom" as they age, older women are seen as outdated, strident, harpy, and their voices are discounted.

First, women are too young to be in a responsible position. This lasts into their mid to late thirties but does not for men.

Then in an instant, they are too old to be hired for anything or anywhere new. Once again, when men are still “young enough” at the same age.

Young or old, women get no prime time.

No age is the right age for a woman to be in a leadership position. There will always be an age-based excuse to not take women seriously, to discount their opinions, or to not hire or promote them.

Age diversity in the workplace yields better organizational performance while perceived age discrimination creates lower job satisfaction and engagement.

How can we (as organizations) combat Gendered Ageism?

1. Recognize age bias, address lookism.

We can’t fix a problem if we won’t admit it is there. First, address the issue.

Train all your employees on gendered age bias and lookism, just as they are trained on other forms of discrimination.

Ensure that your employees looks or appearance will not be used as a hidden metric for hiring, promoting, or any other performance evaluation.

Only when the problem ceases to be ignored, necessary improvements can be made.

2. Focus on skills, no matter who has them.

Rather than focusing on age when hiring, promoting, or bringing on new team members, organizations should focus on each woman’s skills, not their tenure or other irrelevant external factors.

3. Cultivate creative collaborations.

Create a space to develop inter-generational, mixed-gender teams to encourage learning from each other and collaborating on solutions.

Middle-aged and older employees have years of experience, while younger employees have perspectives from growing up in a more recent time.

A recent study of Gen-Z’s expectations at work showed that one of their highest desires was for mentoring relationships; they long for connection with older workers who take an interest in them.

Intentionally pairing younger women with older mentors will aid their learning and career success.

Any age can be viewed as “the wrong age” for a woman, allowing her capacity to be questioned and her fitness for a leadership position challenged.

But, we must stop stigmatizing women’s age- it doesn't just benefit the women, but also the organizations they work for.

Agree? Share your thoughts?