Never let them know your age!
Ruth: "I feel invisible at work."
Ruth dreads turning 58 on her next birthday. Her biggest worry is becoming “invisible” to her younger co-workers. As a professional stockbroker, her job requires her to look good, perform well, and compete with other money managers rising through the ranks. “I think it’s important to look as good as I can, so I buy good cosmetics and try to take care of my skin,” she says. She even buys new products she sees on television that promise to erase wrinkles and make her look 10 years younger.
She is considering having a facelift. “If that’s what it takes to compete, I’ll do it,” she says. Ruth worries so much that she even consulted a professional career consultant and takes to heart his advice: “Never let them know your age and never talk about hot flashes. It ages you in the eyes of your co-workers and reduce your marketability.”
The other girls at work are younger, mostly married with kids. “After 20 years in my brokerage house, I’m the oldest woman at work. The men are looked up to. Although the men will come and ask me things, the girls tend to go to the men.”
Lately she has been seeking out women her own age to find someone she can relate to and asks, “Do you ever feel like this?”
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Find out how Ruth handles her situation and read Dr. Nancy's advice in our NEW Special Report for Baby Boomer Women in their 40s and 50s. ORDER NOW!
Maintaining Our Mantra
Successful women believe...
- We are strong, vital women who won't be limited by our shallow society.
- We are smart and have the life experiences to prove it.
- There are no limits to what we can do --- or be! We have strength in NUMBERS!
- We will ignore stereotypical thinking about age, size, and race.
- We are not fooled by the notion that women of this century "have it made".
- We will keep fighting for personal rights.
- We are important no matter the number on our scales or the wrinkles in the mirror.