Sweet Sixty(teen): Rebranding 60

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If you’d asked my 40-year-old self what 60 would look like, I probably would’ve pictured something very different. Slowing down? No. Fading into the background? Not a chance. Retiring? Far from it.

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At 60, I feel more alive, engaged, authentic and purposeful than ever. And don’t make any assumptions about me, I have a 16-year old daughter and 18 year old son, not children in their late 20s.

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I had a corporate career and travelled the world in my 20s (and worked in Artificial Intelligence #AI for the French AI Association in Paris), co-founded a ￡ multi-million start-up business baby in my 30s, had babies in my early 40s and have been doing work in ageism, job share and creating programmes to help companies hire and retain 50 and 60+ employees.

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Sixty feels like a new beginning, I have a new horizon and it’s the start of a new chapter filled with clarity, purpose and possibility. It’s the moment to shape work and life in a way that reflects what I want and who I am. It’s time to reimagine and reinvent our work and life in a way that truly suits me.

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The Workplace Needs Us—But Do They Know It?

Here’s where the conversation gets serious. Despite all the talk about experience, wisdom, and resilience, gendered ageism in hiring and retention is a very real problem. Did you know that 60% of women are in employment after 50, but only 20% remain in work after 60? Compare that to 80% of men who are still working at 60. Sure, some of that will be by choice, but not all of it. Thank you for the stats Eleanor Mills and 55/Redefined

This is particularly troubling when you look at the numbers: the gender pay gap is widest for women in their 50s, and the pension gap between men and women stands at a staggering 35%. If women are pushed out of work at 50, can’t claim a pension until 68, and haven’t had the chance to top it up in those last 18 years, we have a serious issue on our hands. And this is my mission for this decade.

The workplace loses out when they underestimate us. At 60, we bring:

• Decades of experience and wisdom – We’ve seen industries change, navigated crises, and adapted. That’s resilience and crystalised wisdom.
• Emotional intelligence – Years of managing people, situations, and relationships mean we can read a room like no one else.
• Strong networks – We know people, and more importantly, we know how to bring the right people together.
• The ability to mentor and guide – We don’t just do the work; we uplift those around us.

Yet, despite all this, too many women find themselves edged out of the workforce at precisely the time they could be adding the most value. That’s why I developed the Diamond Programme—a framework to help people define what they want their work-life future to look like. Not everyone wants to retire at 60, and not everyone wants to work in the same way they did at 40. We should be able to shape our careers in a way that suits us—not be forced into outdated, one-size-fits-all career trajectories and job boxes.

You want to make the most of your energy and your abilities and that looks different for each of us and it does lead to both productivity and well-being.

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The Advantages of Being 60

Here’s what I love about this stage of life:

• Freedom – For many, the dependents are driving or have flown the nest, and it’s your turn now and time to focus.
• Parkrun position – ?If you do the parkrun on a Saturday morning, you get put into a different age category when you have a 0 or a 5 on the end of your age, I love it you get catapulted up the position chart and they weight your age. On Saturday, I moved from 39th, to 12th female to 2nd in age category.
• Discounts! – Cheaper train fares, coach and cinema tickets, and more— what’s not to like?

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Changing the Narrative

It’s time we reframe how we talk about 60—both in work and life. Companies need to recognise that they are losing an invaluable pool of talent by overlooking older workers, particularly women. A report by the Work Foundation at Lancaster University found that 70% of senior business leaders believe their organisations benefit from the varied viewpoints of a multigenerational workforce. And we, as individuals, need to reclaim our own narrative, deciding how we want this chapter of life to unfold.

Sweet 60? Absolutely. And still as ambitious, engaged, and forward-thinking as ever.

And the picture is of Emily Timmins who I met when she won the "Best Female Led Tech Start-up" by Women Outside The Box (now Enterprise Nation ) and Monica Kleijn Evason who met when I worked at Marlow Foods Limited . The photograph was taken at my BIG Diamond birthday celebration and you can see some intergenerational alchemy right here.

So, what’s next for you? Have you started shaping your own work-life future? Want to create intergenerational teams. Let’s talk.

#Rebranding60 #AgeingIsLiving #SweetSixtyteen#ItsYourTimeNow #AgeInclusion #GenderPensionGap

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