Why Women Over 50 Face Unique Challenges in the Job Market and What You Can Do About It

Why Women Over 50 Face Unique Challenges in the Job Market and What You Can Do About It

If you're a woman over 50 looking for work, you may have noticed something frustrating.

You have decades of experience. You've managed competing priorities, solved problems, led teams, supported families, adapted to change, and built valuable skills throughout your career. Yet finding your next opportunity can feel harder than it should.

If this sounds familiar, you're not imagining it.

Research shows that Australians aged 55 and over who lose employment take an average of 20 months to find work, compared to just 9 months for younger workers. At the same time, between 35% and 42% of mature-age workers report experiencing age discrimination during the recruitment process.

As a Career Development Practitioner, I work with many women in their 50s and 60s who are navigating career change, redundancy, returning to work after caring responsibilities, or searching for meaningful work later in life.

What I often remind them is this:

The challenges you're facing are not always a reflection of your capability.

Many of the barriers are systemic.

The Double Challenge: Age and Gender

For women over 50, career transitions can be particularly complex.

Not only do mature-age workers face stereotypes about being less adaptable or less comfortable with technology, but women also continue to experience the long-term effects of gender-based workforce inequities.

According to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, Australia's gender pay gap remains:

• 12% for base salary

• 19% for total remuneration, including superannuation and bonuses

  
  

Over a lifetime, these gaps can result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost earnings and reduced retirement savings.

Many women have also experienced career interruptions due to caring responsibilities, part-time work arrangements, or stepping back from leadership opportunities to support family needs.

While these decisions often reflect important life priorities, they can create challenges when re-entering the workforce or pursuing advancement later in life.

The Myths Mature-Age Job Seekers Are Up Against

One of the biggest barriers isn't capability, it's perception.

Some employers still hold outdated assumptions that older workers:

• Are less adaptable to change

• Struggle with technology

• Are overqualified

• Won't stay long-term

• Have lower energy or motivation

  
  

Yet the reality is often very different.

Many of the mature-age clients I work with are actively learning new technologies, undertaking professional development, adapting to changing industries, and bringing something many employers desperately need: wisdom, resilience, emotional intelligence, and perspective.

I'm thinking about a client right now who learned how to use Microsoft Teams for our weekly career coaching sessions and how to utilise Chat GPT when they previously didn't even own a laptop!

The Hidden Impact of Modern Recruitment

Recruitment processes have changed significantly over the past decade.

I do some contracting work in outplacement support for Hellomonday, and they did a wonderful training on how AI is being used in recruitment.

Many applications are now screened by Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) or AI-driven recruitment tools before a human even reviews them.

But I've recently learned at uni, is that sometimes these systems unintentionally (and intentionally) disadvantage female mature-age applicants through factors such as:

• Lengthy employment histories

• Years since graduation

• Career gaps

• Non-linear career pathways

Women may be particularly affected where caring responsibilities have resulted in career breaks or periods of part-time work.

This means that sometimes the challenge isn't getting the job.

It's getting past the first screening stage before a human actually gets to see you.

What Mature-Age Women Bring to the Workforce

When I work with clients over 50, we spend time identifying the strengths they often overlook because they've become so normal to them.

These strengths frequently include:

• Strong communication skills

• Relationship-building expertise

• Problem-solving ability

• Resilience through change

• Leadership and mentoring capabilities

• Emotional intelligence

• Reliability and professionalism

• Industry knowledge and commercial insight

These are not "soft" extras. They are critical workplace skills that organisations need.

According to the World Economic Forum, The Future of Jobs Report 2025 these skills are desperately needed.

What You Can Control

While we can't eliminate systemic barriers overnight, there are practical steps you can take.

Modernise your Personal Brand

Ensure your resume and LinkedIn profile reflect your current capabilities, achievements, and value, not simply your work history.

Demonstrate Adaptability

Highlight examples of learning new systems, technologies, processes, or ways of working.

Focus on Achievements

Employers want evidence of impact. Quantify results wherever possible.

Build and Leverage your Network (this is a big one)

Many opportunities are filled through referrals and professional connections before they're publicly advertised.

Challenge Your Own Assumptions

Sometimes the biggest barrier is believing the stereotypes ourselves. Your experience has value. Don't downplay it.

If you're a woman over 50 looking for work and feeling discouraged, remember this ... your age is not your weakness.

Your experience, perspective, resilience, and life skills are valuable assets that many organisations need.

Yes, age discrimination exists.

Yes, gender inequities continue to affect career outcomes.

But neither of these realities defines your potential. I believe there will always be someone on the other side of the table who will see your worth, it might just take a little longer to get there.

—

Merly Hartnett

Career & Burnout Recovery Coach

Career Practitioner | HCANZA-Accredited Wellbeing Coach

Building sustainable careers for modern life.

​📩 Let's connect if you're exploring a career change, navigating burnout, or considering what's next.

References:

Workplace Gender Equality Agency. (2024). Gender pay gap statistics. https://www.wgea.gov.au/pay-and-gender/gender-pay-gap-statistics

Australian Human Rights Commission. (2016). Willing to work: National inquiry into employment discrimination against older Australians and Australians with disability. https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/age-discrimination/publications/willing-work-national-inquiry-employment-discrimination