The Impacts of 2020 on Women: How do we approach 2021?

COVID-19 cases continue to surge and our political climate is contentious at best. At times, it’s hard to believe all that has happened this year, and it doesn’t take a crystal ball to figure out that we are living in a time that will go down in history.

What will we take away? What will be the moral of the story? I think it is still unfolding, but one thing is for sure, the economic impacts of COVID-19, the death of the trailblazing Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and both the results and tribulations of the recent U.S Presidential election will leave a lasting impression on our country.

Women in the workforce, in particular, are feeling and will continue to feel the economic impacts of the events of 2020 into 2021.

The global coronavirus pandemic came sweeping in unapologetically to change life as we know it, resulting in both a public health crisis and an economic crisis in the United States, leaving women particularly vulnerable to workplace barriers.

And on top of that, what I call the Silver Ceiling^SM is alive and well, with COVID exacerbating the workplace barriers related to aging. As early as April, AARP employment data indicated the threat to the careers and earning power of women over the age of 55 due to the COVID-19 economic impacts. Unemployment for women over 55 peaked in April with 15.5% out of work.

A study by The New School found this especially concerning for those close to retirement who anticipated having more time to accrue savings. Age discrimination may also be at play, notes Teresa Ghilarducci, director of the New School’s Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis. Such regulations have not been as tightly enforced during this period, and employers may be taking advantage to let go of their older, and sometimes higher-earning, employees.

Then, between August and September, 216,000 men and 865,000 women dropped out of the workforce, according to a National Women’s Law Center analysis of the Bureau of Labor Statistics September jobs report. That’s four times more women than men!

And in December, employers cut 140,000 more jobs, according to recent data reported by CNN Business. Women lost a net 156,000 jobs, as men gained 16,000! But such job loss was not felt equally across the board. There were some gains made by white women in the labor force, while primarily Black and Latina women lost their jobs toward the end of the year.

Why are so many more women in the workforce dropping out than men? Why is the economic impact felt so significantly? You could say it’s a culmination of factors.

One reason is that certain job sectors – those without paid sick leave or the option to work from home – employ mostly women. (It is important to note that disproportionate numbers of women of color work in the most precarious sectors with the fewest safety nets.) Jobs without sick leave or remote access are much less forgiving, and much less flexible, explains C. Nicole Mason, president and CEO of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research: “[When] women can’t come to work because of caregiving responsibilities — they have to exit the workforce.”

Another explanation lies in the stability of the occupation itself. Women comprise most of the employees in industries that have been closed or have suffered massive cuts due to COVID: specifically education, hospitality, and retail. Few measures have been taken to protect the economic welfare of these working women.

Yet it’s fair to ask, should we even be that surprised? Women started on uneven ground with workplace barriers. We’ve made shaky progress after years of fighting for equality, inclusion, and equity, but the economic gender gap continues to be omnipresent. For those of us women age forty-plus, we’ve always been bumping into the invisible, and now quite visible Silver Ceiling^SM!

No surprise that even before COVID changed our world, according to Census Bureau data analyzed by the American Association of University Women, women working full time in the United States made an average 20 cents less, per dollar, than did men. A bellwether, the gap in wages increases over the course of a woman’s career and is widest for women ages 55–64, estimated at just 75 cents for every dollar, likely as a result of the compounded long-term effects of direct and indirect bias and workplace barriers based on gender conflated with age. And as we move into retirement, women still feel the effect of those years of earning less, which results in less paid into social security, pension, and retirement funds over time.

So, women already started out less financially secure on average. As Time magazine recently noted, careers and industries – including elective healthcare, childcare, housekeeping, and other service industry positions traditionally dominated by women – have been especially vulnerable to the economic impacts of COVID-19.

You’d think it might be better for women with white collar desk jobs who can work from home, but that’s where the unpaid labor of women comes into play. For centuries, women have carried the bulk of caregiver responsibilities and just as we start to see men taking on more of that responsibility, we’ve taken a step back as one in four women in the workforce are considering reducing work hours, moving to part-time roles, switching to less demanding jobs, taking leaves of absence from work, or stepping away from the workforce altogether, according to a study recently published by McKinsey & Co. and Lean In.

Due to closures of daycare programs and the new paradigm of online classes, working mothers are now confronted with perpetual childcare and assisting in their children’s schooling like never before. Women with grown children or no children are not immune to the impact as care of their parents and elder family members continues to fall disproportionately on their shoulders.

While the Wall Street Journal reported in February that women still only make up 6 percent of CEOs in our country’s top companies (or 167 of 3000 to put it into perspective), even women in executive roles (think vice president level) shared with McKinsey and Lean In that they were considering a step back in their careers to better care for children or other family members.

Meanwhile, on the frontlines it is mostly women who are battling COVID-19 head-on, composing almost 70% of the healthcare workforce. And while that is something to be proud of, it should also be noted that this means they are experiencing a higher risk of infection while they remain under-represented in leadership and decision-making processes in the health care sector.

And then we lost RBG!

While not related to the pandemic (thank God), I think we all felt the devastating loss of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and what it may mean for women’s full equality, inclusion and equity – and that means losing our right to sit at the table. From gender discrimination and workplace barriers to women’s health to voting rights, Justice Ginsburg brought us forward. It was enough to make even the most powerful of women feel discouraged and worried for the future.

Then along came Kamala Harris, and just in time! As the first female VP, Harris will continue to be a role model for women, especially young women of color, in the coming years. And what a breath of fresh air to watch our new Second Family embrace the achievement, with VP Harris’ husband proudly taking the title of Second Gentleman.

Even with our progress, racial inequality is still one of the most serious problems we in the United States have to address, and the business sector is not exempt. While some huge strides have been taken this year, it is more important now than ever to show up for businesswomen from minority backgrounds. They boast some incredible achievements!

Women of color start businesses at a remarkable 4.5 times the rate of all businesses. This has a considerable impact on the creation of new small businesses every year, notes BusinessWire. We could all use good news like this, and with it, a reinvigorated drive for a truly equitable marketplace.

Another incredible fact: 21% of all women-owned firms are owned by Black women. In fact, as Black women comprise approximately 13.7% of all women in the U.S., they’re actually overrepresented among all women-owned businesses – and there is a clear pattern of success!

Despite the prevalence of Black women in business, however, the payoff they see is not quite up to par. In 2020, “Although over 50% of women-owned businesses [were those of] women of color, they only brought in 422 billion dollars in revenue vs white women-owned businesses who brought in 1.4 trillion dollars in revenue,” Forbes reports. Amending this statistic will require awareness and solidarity on all our parts.

While such a disparity can seem daunting to address, it is important as ever to keep up with this knowledge. Businesswomen from minority backgrounds are facing a multitude of current pressures. Every piece of information aids in the impact we can have – to bring all women forward and up, together! Focusing on ways to support businesses that serve important social goals, especially small businesses, is essential to closing the gap of inequality.

For those of us choosing to take on the role of forerunner, it is vital to explore the bounds of innovation while remaining open to inspiration from all avenues, and to combine profit with purpose, creativity with collaboration, and consumer value with our core values.

Where do we go from here?

My advice to women in 2021, especially those women in the workforce experiencing the impacts of ageism or racism as well as sexism, is to focus on what you can control and to embrace inspiration.

We can’t change the fact that a global pandemic has thrown a wrench into our lives, but we can reevaluate our futures and make a forward-looking plan.

Someone recently asked me if there were any benefits to our shift to a virtual world, and my answer was a resounding YES! In the virtual world we can launch . We are only as limited as our own imaginations.

If we are present to the moment and every moment, there are messengers and symbols that come towards us and show up and we have to pay attention. Before COVID, we were running around distracted. Most of us did not see, hear, or pay attention to signs surrounding us. We now need to follow the messengers that the universe is sending to us.

Here’s what I’ve learned along the way: Never forget about YOU. Remember to allocate time for yourself, because when the well is dry, you can’t quench yours or anyone else’s thirst. Ask yourself routinely: What’s the next stage I would like to attain in each domain and each relationship in my world? What pivots could I make? Which ideals and goals could I re-center around?

And so, while times are shaky and the future is uncertain for so many, I believe there is promise and possibility ahead, but you must embrace the potential of your personal and professional vision to get from where you are now to where you want to end up. This moment of flux brings new openings too.

Bottom line: Reimagine what you really, truly want! Then go for it like your life depends on it, cause it does!

Even with everything that hit us in 2020, moving into 2021, we decline to be discouraged. Remember, in the immortal words of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: “So often in life, things that you regard as impediment turn out to be great, good fortune.”

A Thanksgiving Note From Karen

Happy Thanksgiving, Trailblazers

There’s a new chill in the air as our first frosts descend here in the northeast U.S. and autumn and its brilliant swath of multi-colors recedes.

Our American Thanksgiving holiday this week calls us all to come together with family and friends to celebrate our ancient harvest time and to acknowledge what and whom we are most grateful for.

There is something special about these holidays that I felt even as a young child, and feel more so this week as our nation divided comes together to break bread. This holiday season, many of our gatherings will take place on Zoom or Facetime but no less meaningful.

Throughout human history, prayers and thanks have been given for the blessings of the autumn harvest and in celebration of those we cherish and what we are most grateful for.

I write in gratitude for our continuing conversation. Thank you for sticking with me through thick and thin, most especially as we move forward during these VUCA TIMES.

In spite of my upset with our current 2020 USA political quagmire, I have so much to be grateful for this holiday. A biggie is that as a U.S. woman, I can continue to speak my truth and share my views even if against the grain. I can vote, drive, make my own health decisions, and pretty much do what I am called to do and be without restraints. Unlike in my youth, I now have my own credit card, I don’t need a male to co-sign for me, and I can rise to the top of an organization or run my own business or be a stay-at-home granny if I so choose. I can rally for causes that I cherish without limits, write what I think, and protest for what matters most to me.

Hallelujah for Kamala Harris smashing through the glass ceiling and Joe Biden ripping through the silver ceiling! 2021 is an inauguration for human rights—inspiring a huge sigh of relief and gratitude.

I was invited this past year, to contribute Gray is the New Green: Opportunities of Population Aging in the first ever U.N. Encyclopedia on Gerontology and Population Aging. I am so thankful for the awesome privilege of being included –and blown away by the potential impact this first of its kind encyclopedia will have on professionals in health care and aging as well as in the business of aging, thus along the way, we the people, near and far. If you are so moved to, please check it out HERE: Gray is the New Green: Opportunities of Population Aging

It is with deep gratitude to you who have placed your name on the waiting list for the launch of the new AgelessWayAcademy.com’s first course offering, Gray is the New Green. I owe you all an update on our progress to date. As it is with most groundbreaking ventures, there have been unexpected right angle turns as we entered into the final completion of the course development. No surprise that at first these out-of-the-blue setbacks and detours appeared to threaten, but as always led me kicking and screaming in resistance into even more sacred creative disruption. As a result, an even better and more spot-on programming is emerging to meet your growing interest in the future of aging, longevity, and the impact of the new ageless healthcare and aging sector’s explosive growth of the business of aging on you, higher education, the workforce and the marketplace.

Best silver lining news is that since just before Covid-19 disrupted our way of life in the US, I’ve been invited into a 1:1 incubator with a leading eLearning master at the helm of a prestigious online university to transition my vision into a real-time online institute! Super exciting.

Thank you for joining with me to bring my legacy vision to reality so that together we will create the new story of our AGE! Watch for news in your inbox. In the meantime, if you’d like to speak to me about what we are up to behind the course creation curtain, or you are called to join in, or perhaps you are moved to be philanthropic to support our efforts, do please reach out. You can contact me on Linkedin, email me at Karen@agelesswayacademy.com or give me a call or text at 203-266-1100.

In prayer and deep reflection this holiday, we are reminded of time fleeting as another Thanksgiving harvest comes and goes – a marker event reminding us that we must welcome the unknown and prepare to follow its lead with dignity, and respect, whilst never giving up the fight for what matters most.

We already have the know-how to bring us back into sync with our deepest inner knowing and our cherished American democratic values. We must persevere as a melting pot nation and the global beacon for democracy.

Going inside to the calm center we can use this holiday time to call in our ancestors to help us harvest the best possible new future of our own making. Not only do we have the know-how from the ancients, we also have the tools and resources to birth this new future forward.

Our own emerging conscious evolution and the paradigm shifting new sciences provide us with access to 21st-century futures thinking that will allow us to cross the unknown divide between what was and what will be.

Sending you wishes for a gratitude-filled Thanksgiving harvest-time here, and around the globe!

P.S. I’ll be rolling out new offerings as we move out of 2020 into 2021, so please stay tuned.

P.P.S. I’d love you to come visit with me often. You can find me posting regularly in my Ageless Beat blog—contributors are invited to submit posts.

P.P.S. Our gratis Future Proof Forum is a great place to meet up every Monday at Noon ET on Zoom. Join in as you are so moved, check us out at www.karensands.com/VUCA

NEWS FLASH!

A special thanks for mentions #robinalbin & #dariamyers in their Medium article posted on Linkedin, entitled Covid’s Unspoken “Ism” – Check out their valuable insights on navigating rising age bias.

https://medium.com/@Wordsmitty/covids-unspoken-ism-a5e20fb31ec6

PS. You can also find my article on Medium and posted in Linkedin articles.

LINKS
Medium:https://karensands.medium.com/the-impact-of-2020-on-women-7ce374372016
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/impact-2020-women-future-bright-bleak

Challenge produces the opportunity for greatness. Given the extraordinary challenges the world faces today, the potential for greatness is monumental.

~ James Kouzes and Barry Posner

Will Our Democratic Experiment Tip into Demise or Evolve into its Greatness?

With the election just days away, we are at a tipping point. Will we meet the Greatness Challenge in 2020?

It is easy to believe the world may be on the verge of collapse, especially as we look back at the last few years. We as a country, and globally, pulled ourselves up by the proverbial bootstraps to begin yet another Phoenix rising.

Not to worry.

We are right on time.

We are on the verge of a process of renewal. All processes of nature are forcing us to spring forward from hardship and uncertainty into a greater future. The big challenge for all of us is putting greatness, a “New Age” meme, into real time.

Spiraling forward in our personal and planetary development (just like adolescence or the midlife renewal process), we must accomplish required developmental tasks if we are to move through the sequential stages of our life course—our time here on earth.

Our world is undergoing a major shake-up. A major tug of war encompasses the globe. If we move quickly to take collaborative action, we will move from breakdown into breakthrough in the U.S.A and around the world. Best hurry or we could very well morph into something we never intended. And certainly, don’t want. We are being asked to meet The Greatness Challenge.

Many factors, including the pandemic, have contributed to our spiraling towards breakdown as the world’s greatest innovator and model of social, religious, and economic freedom as the populist movement rages around the once free world in tandem with the radical right religious movements the free world rails against. I sometimes feel that I’m in some modern-day epic unfolding before my eyes. Some part of me believes we will all be saved.

I guess that’s why I still love the Star Wars series. So I admit it. I do trust the force! No, we can’t go back to how it used to be. But we can continue to ask the important questions of ourselves, and of our elected leaders. The first and foremost question I put before you to consider, “Is this a cyclical change or a structural change?”

When I step back to get a big picture perspective…much like looking back at the earth from out in space, I find it’s far easier for me to dissolve my protective shields and drop into an open clear inner space. Doing so allows me to disengage from preconditioning, expectations and judgments that cloud what I see, and hide what I don’t want to see.

Please take what I’ve learned to call “Taking a God/Goddess’s View” of the world story, my story and yours. By delineating the many varied, plausible, and very possible narrative versions it allows us to cover our bases in preparation for all contingencies…to the best we can. Summing this up better than I can are the words of the award-winning comedian, actor, writer and producer, Mel Brooks, “Hope for the best. Expect the worst.” I, like most of us, prefer the “Aspirational Future” story of my choosing vs. winging it. Your choice.

Either way, please step back so you too can see what’s coming versus only what’s right in front of you…and us. The swing of the pendulum in this cycle of change is far greater than in 2000 or 2008, and far more extreme than 2016. The real question we all need to ask is how wide and lasting a swing is this?

It’s been since just before I was born that this same demonic cycle had been stopped in motion. Whoever thought we’d ever see this again? That was before we knew about cyclical change. Not even 100 years have passed, yet here we are again at the quintessential battle-ground with lines drawn between “good and evil” and the “the light versus the dark.”

Taking on the personae of our own treasured Star Wars hero and heroine, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leah, we too will have to step up and out, willing to joist against the demonic Darth Vader and his evil forces to save our world and our very way of life. Rallying, marching, organizing, boycotting, speaking out, running for office, voting and more is our modern-day Kryptonite against the powers of evil. Our joisting will sap the power of the demonic forces of the far-right/alt-right and far-left until this cycle completes itself or aborts on its own, or breaks down due to fomenting civil unrest which is mounting day by day.

I asked a well-known and highly regarded centenarian—a transformational leader-of-leaders in her own right, what her perspective is on our current U.S. and global turn to the radical far-right and populism. Paraphrasing her words, she shared her wisdom earned, “…It will cycle back to center, it always does. But this time, it may take a long time to return.” It is my take that we are still in-the-midst of a structural change, cycling through as we move between endings and new beginnings.

We trek the Great Transition, (or as it is also called, The Great Shift, or the Great Wheel Turning,) that started with the New Millennium.

What is important to take note of is that our shadow partner is taking his turn at leading the dance. So we must be willing both personally and collectively to be out in the world to embrace the cycles of dying and birthing as we move into new times. But what if this is a structural change we are undergoing—a change that is permanent, long-lasting eliminating or morphing everything in its path?

A differentiating factor of structural change from a cyclical change is that when a structural change births out of societal or cultural upheaval, there are only two outcomes: to totally dissipate, e.g., go Poof! Or, to morph into a higher evolutionary plane of existence than ever before. Which leads me to the next question for us to ponder: Will this upcoming election be the catalyst for our democratic experiment to tip into its demise or to evolve into its greatness?

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Darling you got to let me know,
Should I stay or should I go?
If you say that you are mine
I’ll be here till the end of time
So you got to let me know
Should I stay or should I go?

~The Clash, Should I stay or Should I Go?, Combat Rock, 1982

As the future gets closer, I’m accepting that my old future doesn’t work anymore. So to hell with that future! What now? The work of radical reinvention and transformation begins with this question. For those of us approaching the apex of our life in midlife or for oldies but goodies like me, we face an even more daunting Sisyphean climb as we seek our new futures.

Futurists have few illusions about continuous discontinuous change. In fact, we’ve been writing and speaking about a coming tectonic epochal shift for quite some time. The most curried of coined names are:  The Big Shift, The Change, or The Great Transition. Whatever we call “it”, it doesn’t stop here. Forewarning: Each of us will confront this question several times in the years and decades ahead: So I ask you, What now?

Which is why Power is in the NOW! We can harvest opportunity from crisis, but first, we have to take a step back and do some ruthless soul-searching during this pause before we pivot. Key questions to ask: How did this happen? How did I get here? Where am I headed and is it still where I want to end up? Doing so will engage us from the depths as it takes courage and demands transparency. It’s the only way to regain our own audacity of hope and possibility.

Many of us are still caught in shock—as the hits keep rolling in…orange skies of California burning, racial injustice across the globe, voter suppression, and all the isms are front and center. Some with despairing paralysis threatening from the sidelines. Some of us are hiding out in isolation, either like a deer in headlights, licking our wounds and mending our broken hearts, and/or processing, not sure what to do next, while others are wondering whether to stay or go.

Others are gestating and concocting. I find myself in this group. The day I heard that the market had tanked, I was clearly shocked and shook. I went with the flow attempting to not retreat…then like a mini quake, I started to have tremors. No not a meltdown, rather a breakthrough! I was experiencing a mini kundalini rising of heat, light, and tremors from toes to head and back again… then I was flooded with a series of major aha’s.  One was that I needed to share my earned knowledge and experience in facilitating radical reinvention and transformation asap for we the people will be in need of a respite, a place to make sense of our times, and time to reimagine the future together. I was being called to illuminate the way forward for whoever stepped forward.  Without hesitation, I put aside my cherished long-awaited for launch of my vision. In moments, I knew exactly what to do. The birth of my gratis weekly Future Proof Forum^TM emerged from those embers of inner knowing.  Our coming together to navigate towards a new future is now a value-added gift for all who attend, and most certainly for me.  You are welcome to check the forum out. More info. at www.karensands.com/vuca.

Being self-isolated with my husband for the last six months has been a rich experience for us. Working and living together in one house is our normal, so we have gratefully bypassed any disruption… unlike so many others suddenly thrust together day after day, month after month.

Entering my probable last quarter on the planet, I’m now always in what I call the “Beat the Clock syndrome℠”.  So not having to drive for hours back n forth to meetings and networking events are not a loss. Quite the opposite! I’m having a grand time concocting and creating behind the black curtain. I’m on Zoom all the time. And my productivity is off the charts. Watch your inbox for upcoming announcements.

As with any maturation curve, as one phase winds out, another is already in progress. Knowing when to leap from one to the other will determine your trajectory…every time!

For many of us, our midlife malaise is colliding with our new reality. In the midst of a midlife identity crisis—we are being forced to ask some hard, fundamental questions and to re-examine who we are, why we are here, and where we best fit. (Midlife crisis can come at any time, even more than once—from age 35-70, give or take a year or two!)  For those of us in our later years already, we have to reframe our future with little time to waste. Thought for today: Don’t be lulled into “mission drift” cause mid-career turns into late-career really fast.

This intense exploration is more important now than even during the Great Recession or after 9/11 –because it’s no longer isolated, our whole world is in a shakeup and shutdown.  This forced exploration isn’t only career-related. Every facet of our life comes under scrutiny: from the bedroom to the boardroom…even the schoolroom. What we thought we wanted or needed is dramatically changing, either because we are up against a wall or because we are choosing to get ahead of the curve of change. And, just when we think we have “it”, it will morph again.

The unfortunate truth is that most of us choose unhappiness over uncertainty. We more often than not choose safety and security vs. the unknown. But nothing is certain except death, so embrace uncertainty and make it work for you.

It’s still too dicey to place bets on when our current Covid-19 induced economic woes will be over. So, we have no choice but to reframe our “now” while at the same time we redesign for out new future… and renegotiate everything…the good, the bad, and the ugly.  No better time like right now.

Most of all we need to take a breath and get here now! Soon enough our “now” will be past-tense.

This is a time for great reflection and truthtelling. Some of us, like my husband and I, are getting even more “real”. No longer just talking the talk, or getting stuck in fantasies of our youth, we are making hard choices and sacrifices so we can Keep on Keepin’ On. We are not alone in our search for meaningful futures that matter…a new vision that works for all, not just the few.

Working the Power in the Now may mean staying or it might mean taking the grand leap into the unknown. Reclaim your vision, then stand for what matters. Keep your faith for this new crossing into the unknown future.  Best you gauge your tolerance level for the uncertain…for VUCA times are here to stay. Which is it for you? Unhappiness or Uncertainty?

Risk-taking in these times is not for the faint-hearted. But for those at the helm or for those who have an in-demand specialty…and even for those still singing the blues because they can’t get any satisfaction, this may be your time to rock on out.

Get ready. Get set…

Since it’s no longer a sure thing that tomorrow will be better than today, isn’t it time to harness your promise? Take it and redirect your energies so you can honestly answer, Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Everyone wants long term success. But it is elusive for most.

Long term success is dependent on knowing where you are now and where you are headed. Then closing the gap. Frequently. Continuously.  Whether it’s your business, your career or your life at home., it’s easy to get off track, lose touch or get buried under. Without a true sense of where you are in the moment, it is impossible to realize your dreams or be a leader in your field.

Re-calibrate your profound knowledge

The only way we can take 100% responsibility for sustaining our success is to keep re-calibrating-in every aspect of our lives and organizations.

Key to successful recalibration is to acquire what my dear departed mentor, Dr. W. Edwards Deming, coined as Profound Knowledge. This umbrella phrase emphasizes understanding change and how to measure it, being aware of emerging trends and shifts, and learning how to apply this knowledge to leading and sustaining long term success.

Bottom line: If we don’t acquire Profound Knowledge we cannot know how to prepare for and leverage coming change, thus how to sustain our success long term.

Understanding change means understanding shifts in our personal world as well as tracking trends that capsize us, overtake us, or cause us to flounder.

Learning the Hard Way

Unfortunately one of my Gen X male clients learned this the hard way. A rising star in his field and recently married, he was planning far a great future for his kids, tons of time for fun and all the trappings of success. As if out of the blue, the rug got pulled out from under him. His “Happy Homemaker” wife fled, saying I’m out of here!

Somewhere along the way there was a breakdown or perhaps many small fissures below the surface. Had they been recalibrating an checking in with each other, communicating the truth of what was so for each of them…perhaps they could have saved their marriage…or at least ended it with love, grace, and forgiveness.

Even in the most secure relationships, unexpected change happens to ruffle our plans. A recently returned to work mother of teenage kids reported that her new career is now going gangbusters and she no longer worries about the empty-nest . But, the new ripple in her life is that her once very successful husband, in his late 40’s, now faces an unknown future. Surprised by the shifts in his industry, “suddenly” he and his business partner are facing the probability of closing their doors. What once appeared to be the sure path to their dreams, is no crumbling beneath them.

Change is inevitable. If you can learn what Profound Knowledge is and apply it you can avoid these same pitfalls and NOT LEARN THE HARD WAY!

What steps are you going to take to future cast your long term success?

Then in the 60s, the boomers turned this notion on its head, and the mantra flipped to not trusting anyone over 30.

Now, with boomers clearly over 30 themselves, we are poised on the brink of another transformation in perspective. But as stories like Helen Hatton’s (here) show, that transformation doesn’t have to be a return to the past. We are at a time when we can choose mutual respect and intergenerational cooperation. A time when everyone can be seen and heard.

As I talked about in another post, We The People;, this form of cooperation isn’t in and of itself new. We’ve always relied on it to varying degrees, although I think it is safe to say that today, people younger and older than ever before are now a regular part of any form of intergenerational effort. We’ve always had child prodigies as well as remarkable achievers late in life, but only in modern times are we actively bringing the very young and the very old into the conversation—in science and technology, business, politics, art.

Science fairs, internships, and online presentations put the very young in touch with real-world opportunities. Now, the reverse of this is coming true for the other end of the age continuum, as Helen Hatton discovered when she teamed up with her son to bring her crafts store online. As more and more business and governments are discovering as they gear up to re-envision the aging population as vital, active, productive workers, leaders, and innovators for decades to come.

The lines we have carefully drawn between age groups are blurring. As we can see from this article (here), technology is no longer a symbol of the great divide between the generations, as people over 50 become the fastest growing group of social media users, increasing their presence on Facebook by 84% between 2009 and 2011. In fact, women over 65 alone increased their presence on Twitter by a whopping 96% during that time.

Some say that this spells the demise of these media as the younger generations pull out, not wanting “their news feed cluttered up with their parents’ news,” but this prediction ignores two key trends: (1) social media is evolving to be so individualized that no one can clutter your newsfeed but yourself—you choose entirely what and whom you wish to see; and (2) social media, and society as a whole, is becoming more interest-based, with other factors, such as age, being irrelevant. Just as AutoCAD software can’t tell the difference between the 70-year-old architect and the 20-year-old engineer using it to draft buildings of the future, the 95-year-old lab tech and the 10-year-old who discovered a molecule aren’t going to leave a beloved chemistry Facebook group because of the other’s age.

It’s the chemistry that matters.

No transformation is inevitable, however. I see the signs of this trend developing, but life and society can change on a dime. But I believe this is a trend worth developing, that it’s time we reach out across generations and work together based on common interests. A future that has a place for all of us is one with fewer artificial barriers (such as those based on age, gender, race, and class stereotypes) and more genuine connections.

Again, it’s the chemistry that matters. Together, we can discover more than “just” a new molecule. We can discover, we can create, new worlds.

Get a sneak peek into Karen’s Amazon #1 Best Seller, The Ageless Way
Claim your FREE chapter, “Agelessness Across Generations” download here. 

Midlife crisis. It is a term bandied about, which can conjure images of sports car purchases, new gym memberships, flirtations/affairs/divorces, botox and bikinis. Midlife is, for many, a time of transition, including whether or how to retire. It can be a time of more questions than answers, a time in which you feel less steady as you review and revise who and what you find most meaningful, valuable, and worthwhile. Some changes are desired and welcome, while others feel forced or unavoidable.

I believe, as I share in my upcoming book, The Ageless Way, that  “Those of us who are entering, in the midst of or, like me, leaving our rich middle years, are well poised to use such times of transition as opportunities to tap more deeply into our reservoir of innate soulful greatness – what I refer to as our Signature Greatness DNA. As history has shown, change makers and world shakers always deepen their culture and leave a legacy for future generations by confronting the difficulties of such times with invention, insight, and transcendent understanding.”

It is at these times that many people choose, whether out of desire or necessity, to begin a second (or third, or fourth…) career, which is often referred to as an encore career. There are different reasons people choose to pursue an encore career, such as: financial security; personal fulfillment and meaning; the desire to give back to the local/national/global community; flexibility; work/life balance; learning new skills and utilizing those that have been acquired over decades; sustaining social connections; pursuing a long-held dream…

Regardless of the reason(s) for selecting an encore career, those in their middle and later years have garnered personal and professional experience and wisdom which they can offer to employers and clients. In addition, Boomers and Matures (members of “The Silent Generation”) grew up in eras which inspired active, organized involvement in response to diverse current events, such as WWII, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, and the fights for civil and women’s rights. As a result, these workers are often valued for their efficiency, sense of responsibility, loyalty, hopeful attitude and strong work ethic.

The trend toward an increasingly older and diverse workforce creates multiple opportunities for building successful intergenerational office environments. Encore career professionals offer a variety of abilities and knowledge to enhance the capabilities of the younger generations and benefit, in return, from their colleagues’ perspectives and talents with new work aspects like technology. Such mutually supportive business cultures ensure a more solid future for everyone, from those engaged in encore careers to the generations yet to come.

There is even a movement afoot to support those choosing or hiring for encore careers. Encore.org’s mission is “building a movement to tap the skills and experience of those in midlife and beyond to improve communities and the world.” It seeks to engage the vitality, wisdom and talents of those in the third and fourth stages of life while emphasizing social purpose. Seeing an aging society as a solution to, rather than creator of, problems, Encore.org connects generations in diverse ways, including hosting an annual conference and offering The Purpose Prize for people over 60 who integrate their passion and experience for the betterment of society. Created in 2005, the prize aims to “showcase the value of experience and disprove notions that innovation is the sole province of the young. It’s for those with the passion to make change and the experience to know how to do it.”

I mentioned the term encore career in a blog posted earlier this week, “Second Time Around” , in which I wrote about Barbara Beskind who is now in her third year of work as an inventor, a lifelong dream she achieved just shy of her ninth decade. Additionally, I have met/worked with diverse women and men who have chosen (are choosing) to embark on an encore career. One 51-year-old woman hot shot media executive left her job to pursue what she always wanted to do as a teenager — she went back to school to become a social worker. Another high flying 62-year-old woman left an intense demanding sales executive post to return to the beloved art career of her youth. A 63-year-old retired teacher became a published author. In her January 16, 2015 New York Times article, Older Job Seekers Find Ways to Avoid Age Bias, Kerry Hannon shares the story of a 66-year-old man who was laid off from a high-powered position. After undergoing the unease of transition, questioning his purpose and averting age discrimination encountered in interviews, he ultimately ended up teaching part-time, making money, and feeling valued. And I am one among many who have found fulfillment in an encore career by creating their own business.

Encore.org and the AARP  are just two of the organizations offering programs, resources and information for those embarking on an encore career. In the short term, this transition may require additional investment of education and retraining (including working with a certified professional career coaching and strategy-creation coach). The rewards, however, can be infinite. Following your passion while giving to others can be stimulating, enlivening and offer adventures which demonstrate that, despite pleasurable memories, the best is still yet to come.

When musicians are called by an audience to perform an encore, a demand for more, it is surely a sign of success. Whether you choose an encore career out of need or want, in honoring and utilizing your skills and knowledge you are the one whose success is to be celebrated. Bravo!!

What’s your encore career story?  Please share your experience below.

The new reality is that our employees and leaders will be working until we die. A report by the British trends consultancy The Future Laboratory, supports my view that in time more and more employees will want to age in place, but in the workplace. Let’s face the facts. It’s not just Baby Boomers who have another good twenty to thirty years of being productive and adding value; our current 40-somethings have the option of working at least another thirty to forty years more if they choose to do so.

The Future Laboratory’s findings point to a growing trend in which most of us will continue to work into old age; thus, our workplaces will morph into a new form, an Ageless Workplace! Clearly it’s time to retread forced retirement into voluntary “returnment.”

The future of the marketplace (and the world) lies in the rapidly growing values-based business model. People are now spending their money consciously, choosing to buy from companies that are making a difference in the world over those that aren’t. More often than not, these are small, women-led businesses, the emerging new “Boomer Women Mean Business” story. Increasing numbers of these Boomer led enterprises are supported by Ageless Women of all ages.

To delve more into this concept check out my Amazon Bestseller Gray is the New Green.

By now, you’ve probably heard of and perhaps read Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s book Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. In her book as in countless articles, women are advised to do this or do that to close the various gender inequalities in the workplace—in promotions (particularly to executive and board positions), in pay, and in treatment.

There is no short supply of advice for women to close the various gender gaps, but what about advice for men? For organizations themselves? That women are overwhelmingly the ones responsible for fixing the inequalities that disadvantage them is itself an inequality.

Organizations and the men in them need to take more responsibility for changing the obstacles only women face in the workplace, especially when they themselves are the obstacles. I’ve written before about the McKinsey & Company report on how men and companies perpetuate gender inequalities even with programs in place to address them. Working on changing the culture and one’s mindset is an important step more men, particularly those in leadership, need to take.

In other words, it’s high time women expect their male colleagues and their organizations to do some leaning in toward them. The alternative? What more and more women, particularly those 40+, are doing every day—lean out.

Start your own business, aligned with your values and designed to fulfill your own definition of success, whether that be building a legacy, having time to pursue multiple interests and strengthen relationships, making the money you need to live the life you want while making a difference in the world—or all of the above and more.

Not only do we have the power to create the workplace we want to work in, we have an opportunity to do so in ways that provide a model to the world of the change we want to see in mainstream corporate America, academia, and government.

Women have already begun this modeling, demonstrating a faster rate of growth in their businesses than men as well as showing that having women on boards leads to higher profits.

Ideally, we need more of both—men leaning in and women leaning out. The business world is changing. We can shape the direction of that change by collaborating and by creating the change we want to see.

Many of us are waiting. We’re playing it safe, not taking any risks, putting off our next big steps, the transformations we long to make in our lives and work, until the winds of global economic change die down. We’ve locked the doors, boarded up the windows, and headed down into the basement.

But the problem is that boarded-up windows not only keep the winds from coming in, they keep us from seeing out—we close off our perspective, our ability to see the big picture. The problem is that sometimes playing it safe and sticking with the status quo is the most unsafe choice we can make.

When we finally venture out from our basements and tentatively open our doors, we are likely to see a different world out there, one created and reshaped by the people who didn’t hide away, who instead realized that the only way to survive was to start planning the rebuilding process before the structure collapsed, not after.

We are likely to find that the place we held in the old world, that we so desperately tried to protect, no longer exists. And because we weren’t part of creating the new world, we also weren’t part of creating and ensuring our place in it.

Now I’m not suggesting that you just abandon everything and throw yourself out into the storm. If you are an executive or business owner, you need to start preparing to lead change by figuring out exactly what that means and how you can stay ahead of the curve of change without abandoning what already works in your organization.

If you are not financially ready to start that new business you’ve been longing to start, quitting your job today isn’t the answer. But as I’ve said before, the choice isn’t either/or. It isn’t either you stay at an unfulfilling job or you risk everything and start your business. The choice is both/and.

Stay at the job while you take concrete steps toward starting your business, going beyond just dreaming about it. Commit to taking action every day to build it, and taking into account the bigger world picture as you do: The world is undergoing an epochal shift. Build your business based on what the world needs and will need, based on likely trends as well as the changes you want to see in the world. If you build your future assuming it will look like the past, your business will be obsolete before you even open its doors. In fact, the business of the future might not even have doors, not the way we’ve always thought of them anyway.

Waiting on the world to change is the riskiest move we could ever make—not because it won’t, but because it will.