I used to "hide my age", because in my experience, being female and young (and I look even younger than my real age!) is difficult when in the professional arena with older folks, who do not take us "young professionals" as seriously. They make jokes, or call us "kiddo", when we have the same degrees, intellect, job position and sophistication. Granted, they have more years of experience, which is why I respected them and valued their expertise and opinions. However, the respect was not always reciprocal, on the basis of age.
So...women approaching their 40s or 50s or 80s don't just hide their age, so do those of us who are in our 30s (and I especially did when I was in my late 20s, out of college and still lumped in with those "wild kids" who were just turning 21).
Actually, what this is called is ageism and our society puts so many stereotypes on individuals, no matter what their age! It's just another reason to label someone and make assumptions....grrr.... Can you tell this is my sensitive topic?! :-)
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I used to "hide my age", because in my experience, being female and young (and I look even younger than my real age!) is difficult when in the professional arena with older folks, who do not take us "young professionals" as seriously. They make jokes, or call us "kiddo", when we have the same degrees, intellect, job position and sophistication. Granted, they have more years of experience, which is why I respected them and valued their expertise and opinions. However, the respect was not always reciprocal, on the basis of age.
So...women approaching their 40s or 50s or 80s don't just hide their age, so do those of us who are in our 30s (and I especially did when I was in my late 20s, out of college and still lumped in with those "wild kids" who were just turning 21).
Actually, what this is called is ageism and our society puts so many stereotypes on individuals, no matter what their age! It's just another reason to label someone and make assumptions....grrr.... Can you tell this is my sensitive topic?! :-)
March 8, 2008 - 2:25pmThis Comment
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