In Praise of Older Women
by Elsie Procter
Ladies, especially of the 'well over 21' age group, let us have a little moan about ageism -- the 'I'm sorry but we were looking for someone younger' syndrome. Nay, let us not have a little moan, let us declare war!
We want to know why employers overlook the older woman when interviewing job candidates. What's wrong with being an older woman?
Let us not bother with what we don't have, we have finished with all that and moved on to maturity, so what do we have to off that the younger woman has not?
Having reared our families, we are not likely to get pregnant, are we?
This means we will not need maternity leave and be paid for it, and our employer will not have to fort out money to employ a 'temp' until we return to work. We will also not need time off because the kids are on holiday or ill.
We have learned a lot of skills along the way, like diplomacy, tact, patience and wisdom. We have learned a lot about life, worked our way through the pitfalls of day to day living, we are older and therefore wiser, so this must be a definate plus.
It is highly unlikely that we will stand around swapping chat about our latest boyfriends. We want a job; we are prepared to give a fair day's work for a fair day's wage. We know all about working hard. Bringing up a family is no mean feat, as any mother will tell you.
A woman has to be so many things: wife, mother, nurse, seamstress, housemaid, cook, cleaner, counsellor, laundry worker, lover, part-time teacher, child carer, psychologist, gardener, painter and decorator, accountant, a good listener and advisor, peacemaker, and so many other things that a job is something that, given the chance, we would take in our stride and do it well.
We want to be useful members of society. We have spent years working for our families and would now like to work for ourselves. We would like to be counted as people. In short, we matter. We have so much to offer. All we need is to be given a chance.
Copyright The Bentilean 1999
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