STRONGER TOGETHER: Accelerating Action—Every Woman, Every Age

"STRONGER TOGETHER" is a weekly column where Tanya explores key issues. This week Tanya discusses the importance of accelerating action for women's equality by valuing the contributions of women of all ages and dismantling ageism in the workforce.

By IMPACT Community Services Managing Director Tanya O'Shea

With International Women's Day 2025 being celebrated tomorrow, 8 March, I find myself reflecting on this year's theme — Accelerate Action for women's equality — through the lens of my own life and the evolving role of women in the workforce throughout my career.

As a fan of generational and gender expert Avivah Wittenberg-Cox’s ‘4-Quarter Lives’ podcast, I find myself currently in Quarter 3, The Becoming. This quarter is about finding ways to leverage and contribute the skills and experience accumulated over decades, in the face of a still ageist world reticent to value them. As careers stretch from 30-year sprints to 50-year marathons, ‘Becoming’ is about investing more time in careers or causes that align to our purpose and values.

Too often, conversations about gender equality focus on younger generations, overlooking the immense contribution of women who have spent years honing their skills, building relationships, and quietly breaking down barriers. By 2050, workers aged 55 and over are expected to make up about 40% of the adult population in Australia – a statistic that has risen significantly as a result of women re-entering work in mid-life and delaying retirement.

Ageism is one of the most pervasive — and invisible — forms of discrimination women (and men) face. Ageism can have a profound impact on employment, confidence, health, quality of life and control over life decisions. It can limit us from participating in our community and has demonstrated effects on physical health and longevity. The assumption that experience equates to stagnation rather than wisdom undermines the progress we seek to accelerate. This wasted potential is a loss not just for women, but for society as a whole.

A truly equitable future values a multigenerational workforce, where the knowledge and insight of seasoned professionals sit alongside fresh perspectives. Australia must do better. As a nation, we need to acknowledge and dismantle remaining barriers to health, care, training, discrimination and work conditions, and support employers and industry to design strategies to attract and retain a diverse workforce. This isn't about clinging to relevance — it's about recognising that diversity of age, like any other form of diversity, strengthens organisations and communities.

As Hilary Clinton so aptly said, "Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world." That reservoir includes women of every age, not just those at the start of their careers.

This International Women's Day, let's challenge the biases that sideline women as they grow older. Let's accelerate action by fostering workplaces where experience is celebrated, not overlooked — and where every woman, at every stage of life, knows she still has something valuable to contribute.