How Can Women Veterans Combat Ageism?

"Age is nothing; waking up is everything."

-Maya Angelou

The definition of Ageism is "prejudice or discrimination on the grounds of a person's age."

Did you know there are several categories of ageism?

Personal - language & stereotypes
Institutional - mandatory retirements
Intentional - marketing/media; denial of job training due to age
Unintentional - lack of emergency preparedness; media language

In a 2018 AARP study asking women aged 21-71 what they think about how aging women are perceived in the media

— 61 percent of women say they do not feel represented by images of women in media

— 58 percent of women say they are more likely to purchase products from brands that use models who look like them in their advertising

— 75 percent of women say they like ads that include women of various ages and wish they saw more authentic portrayals of females.

I didn't realize how much these stereotypes influenced me growing up.

So much so that I left the military before reaching age 50 for fear that I wouldn't be marketable.

By the way, ageism isn't just an issue among women, men are subjected to it just as much, although it does seem like it's less obvious.

The video clip below is an excerpt from last month's Virginia Women Veteran Summit, where I was invited along with Jamie Vanek to discuss how we can remove the glass ceiling for women in the workplace.

In the clip we were asked about how can Women Veterans combat ageism.

My answer....

Entrepreneurship.

Have you experienced ageism?

Have you seen another way to combat it in the workplace?