Looking For Employment While Female And Aging

Natasha Singer wrote an interesting article in The New York Times about ageism in the workplace and the self-help book, “How Not To Look Old” by Charla Krupp
which is currently on the New York Times Best Seller List.

Ms. Krupp’s book focuses mostly on examples of very thin and attractive female entertainment personalities who are mostly white. If her intention was just to focus on entertainment personalities, I think that she also should have included Aretha Franklin, Whoopi Goldberg, Roseanne Barr, Dianne Wiest. These women who have superior talent are not conventional beauties.

Yes, aging while being female is a big problem in employment, as both Ms. Singer and Ms. Krupp point out. Also, women in general, are judged to be less capable than men, even if they have the same credentials. Then there is the problem of bias and discrimination against obesity as described in this study by Rebecca Puhl and Kelly D. Brownell, published in 2001.

Rather than blaming women for being women and for aging, and/or not being thin, I think a better alternative to fighting bias and discrimination in employment is through educational efforts, policy changes, and if necessary, legal actions.