45 Over 45

“It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent.” —Madeleine Albright

Last week an article popped up with this title, “Are women’s careers really over at 45? What a waste that would be.” Indeed. According to research by the UK government’s Business Champion for Older Workers (does the US have one of those?) they sort of are:
“Women’s careers are being ‘‘cut off’’ at 45 thanks to a combination of ageism and gender discrimination. Older men face discrimination too, the report says, but they manage to last another decade in the workplace before slipping backwards in hierarchy, skills and promotion.”

I am 45, and I am absolutely sure that, unless I am hit by a bus or otherwise cut down in my prime, I am coming into my own, personally and professionally, and the best is yet to come. And I know more than a handful of women who feel the same way, but several months ago, when going over the typical lists of 30 women under 30 and 40 women under 40, I realized that there were no lists for people like me, nothing to point to my role models.

So here is the beginning of a list of the 45 Women to Watch over 45.
Please add your own – these are the women who came to mind right away.
There are many more out there.

1 – Hillary Clinton
2 – Shonda Rhimes
3 – Roxane Gay
4 – Sheryl Sandberg
5 – Meg Sullivan
6 – Melanie Dunea
7 – Samantha Power
8 – Elizabeth Warren
9 – Dianne Von Furstenberg
10 – Anne Marie Slaughter
11 – Christy Turlington
12 – Joanne Wilson
13 – Rita Gunther McGrath
14 – Michelle Obama
15 – Mary Barra

Some of these women are my friends, most are not, some are famous, some are not, and there may be a few who haven’t hit 45 quite yet, but their appearance here is a compliment – they are so fabulous I assume that they have reached the true age of majority, when they know and like who they are and are convinced of all that they are capable of. Who else needs to be here?

It seems we are not the only ones with this idea. Go ahead, nominate yourself or another phenomenal woman for this year’s list of 40 Women to Watch Over 40 brought to you by Forty Over 40.