According to social media, 50 is the new 30. Cool, cool, cool. If only that memo could be slid across the desks of hiring managers, recruiters, and HR departments, women in their 50s would be eternally grateful.

Because, while 50 might be the new 30 when it comes to looks, lifestyle, health, confidence and financial stability, it appears not to be the case when it comes to re-entering
the workplace.

“We speak about inclusivity in the workforce, but actually, it doesn’t apply to women going back into the workplace at 50,” says Tania Heikal. “It doesn’t apply to women who left the corporate world for a while and then want to come back.”

Heikal, 51, knows a thing or two about embracing the power of the pivot after her experience of being locked out of the corporate world. Now in her dream role as a Gemmology Lecturer at L’École Middle East School of Jewelry Arts, she is also a gemstone and jewellery content creator, having amassed over 23,000 followers on her @glowynotshowy Instagram. She doesn’t shy away from sharing – or sugar-coating – her attempts to return to the corporate workplace after taking time out to raise her three children.

Our 20s and 30s are when society tells us women, that we are at the peak of our physical powers and attributes. It’s a time when we learn about ourselves, discover the world and our place in it, or, as that modern philosopher Taylor Swift puts it, “We’re happy, free, confused and lonely at the same time / It’s miserable and magical”. Plus, there are so many choices to be made when it comes to career, friendships, relationships, marriage, and children.

Then, in our 40s and 50s, when we really start to know ourselves and what we want, when we have amassed invaluable experience both personally and professionally, we’re told, as Heikal puts it, “‘You are too old for that.’”

Women leave the workplace for many reasons –motherhood, sabbaticals, pursuing a passion project, caring for parents, or starting their own business, but the path back can be littered with some roadblocks.

A 2023 study by global consulting firm PWC, Navigating the path back: Women returners in MENA, collected insights from 1,200 women across the GCC, Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt. It found that “many women feel apprehensive about the prospects of successfully returning to work after a break”. 

Further, data showed that 60 percent of women believed taking a career break will negatively impact their career – that number rose to 66 percent for working mothers.

Growing older requires planning. The privilege of acquiring additional decades often means that the ‘winging it’ attitude of youth takes a back-seat to strategising second acts and plotting well-planned next chapters.

“Confidence,” says Irina Bond, 52, when asked what she enjoys about maturing. “Knowing myself and what I want. Being comfortable in my own skin. Knowing how to say ‘no’ to things that I feel wouldn’t be for me.”

It’s an ethos that has lead the well-ageing expert and founder of Medi-Gyn, a Dubai-based fertility and hormone-balancing centre, to weight her decision-making more heavily in favour of instinct. “I now feel my way through things rather than thinking logically,” she says. “There’s too much emphasis on ‘that’s what I should do’ rather than ‘how do I feel about this?’”

It’s a sentiment Heikal echoes. “The older I get, the less validation I need,” she states. “I am more myself and I love myself more.”

There’s also a lot of harsh language – not just around ageing, but women and ageing in particular. Unmarried men are bachelors; women, spinsters; men are silver foxes, women are… Well, there isn’t really an equivalent. Google offers up ‘cougar’, but its connotations are less forgiving. And there’s another, the dreaded ‘scrapheap’ – however that looks to you – and the fear of ending up on it.

“This is something I tell my daughter, ‘Set boundaries but do not stop working,’” says Tania. “I advise women not to stop working or earning money. Even if it’s a small amount, keep earning money – be productive, invest in yourself.”

Collective experience has given consultant Maureen Bannerman, 56, and life coach Sharon James, 55, an additional outlook. Having established The GCC Menopause Hub in 2023, they organised the second GCC Menopause Summit this year – the event has grown exponentially as word spread and women started opening up about their experiences.

Agreeing that women should continue to invest in themselves and their skills throughout their career, the two women are also trying to change work culture and conversations when it comes to making space for mature women.

“The culture and mindset around menopause are that it’s a decline rather than a transformation period,” says Bannerman. “Organisations have to shift away from ageism, which equates youth with innovation and newness, and maturity with decline. Experience is a massive asset for a company.”

Acknowledging the great strides the UAE leadership has made in empowering women in the workplace, they also point out that, while women in their 50 are often still covered for childbirth on health insurance, most insurers do not cover the menopause-related costs, such as blood tests and HRT.

“We should expand our definition of value to include experience, not just age,” says James. “Mature women bring so much to the work environment – strong decision-making, calm leadership, experienced mentoring... And we work better under pressure, which all comes from lived experience.” 

And then there’s the dream. “Do you know what I would love to put on my CV? ‘55-year-old woman with
emotional intelligence’...”