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The notion that ageism might hurt women more than men hadn't occurred to me. Those comments were by far the most worrying to me as a woman in tech. Perhaps some

The notion that ageism might hurt women more than men hadn't occurred to me. Those comments were by far the most worrying to me as a woman in tech. Perhaps some part of me hoped that, after a woman's childbearing years were over, she'd be seen as more desirable to an employer, not less. (Not that it would be fair either way.)

exelius 12y ago
I've definitely seen this. It's probably a consequence of how women are depicted in our society: women in movies/TV are either young and beautiful or matronly old crones. The period between 40 and 60 just doesn't exist (presumably women are busy raising children then?) Any actresses whose careers are fortunate enough to survive turning 40 are usually because they either naturally look younger or have a good plastic surgeon. Men, on the other hand, don't shed their "boyish good looks" until their late 30s and can be considered sex symbols well into their 60s. Thus how you get stupid romantic comedies with a 25 year old woman falling in love with a 50 year old man. But you're right, it's not fair. But I don't think this particular problem is isolated to tech.
- pcthrowaway 12y ago
  There are several movies centering around couples in which the female is much older, the most recent one that comes to mind that does the trope justice is The Rebound. But you're right, the disparity in most of these movies tends to be more central to the plot than when it's an older man dating a younger woman.
  - jonny_eh 12y ago
    I thought Don Jon was pretty good too.
    - marvin 12y ago
      In case someone hasn't seen this but is interested, it can be warmly recommended. It's labeled a romantic comedy, but it's really a great social commentary on stereotypical gender expectations and the part of dating culture that's often "just there" and makes it hard to see the forest for the trees.
- lostcolony 12y ago
  Actually, women 40-60 are depicted, but usually not positively. They're either evil (Disney, and the folklore it's based on being a great example) or controlling, or similar. There's a lot of rather interesting discourse on this, and what it says about men (given our paternalistic society).
- verroq 12y ago
  The underlying evolutionary reason is that they are of little to no reproductive value, thus society have evolved to give them a lesser valuation.
- BadCookie 12y ago
  The unusual thing is that men are afraid of ageism in our industry. So if women have it worse, then it's doubly bad for us.

exelius 12y ago

I've definitely seen this. It's probably a consequence of how women are depicted in our society: women in movies/TV are either young and beautiful or matronly old crones. The period between 40 and 60 just doesn't exist (presumably women are busy raising children then?) Any actresses whose careers are fortunate enough to survive turning 40 are usually because they either naturally look younger or have a good plastic surgeon. Men, on the other hand, don't shed their "boyish good looks" until their late 30s and can be considered sex symbols well into their 60s. Thus how you get stupid romantic comedies with a 25 year old woman falling in love with a 50 year old man. But you're right, it's not fair. But I don't think this particular problem is isolated to tech.

pcthrowaway 12y ago
There are several movies centering around couples in which the female is much older, the most recent one that comes to mind that does the trope justice is The Rebound. But you're right, the disparity in most of these movies tends to be more central to the plot than when it's an older man dating a younger woman.
- jonny_eh 12y ago
  I thought Don Jon was pretty good too.
  - marvin 12y ago
    In case someone hasn't seen this but is interested, it can be warmly recommended. It's labeled a romantic comedy, but it's really a great social commentary on stereotypical gender expectations and the part of dating culture that's often "just there" and makes it hard to see the forest for the trees.
lostcolony 12y ago
Actually, women 40-60 are depicted, but usually not positively. They're either evil (Disney, and the folklore it's based on being a great example) or controlling, or similar. There's a lot of rather interesting discourse on this, and what it says about men (given our paternalistic society).
verroq 12y ago
The underlying evolutionary reason is that they are of little to no reproductive value, thus society have evolved to give them a lesser valuation.
BadCookie 12y ago
The unusual thing is that men are afraid of ageism in our industry. So if women have it worse, then it's doubly bad for us.