AI 2.0 for women 50plus

Longevity 2.0: AI and Ageing for Women 50+

Ageism, AI, Healthy aging, Life after 50Leave a comment

From smartwatches to “digital twins,” here’s how artificial intelligence is reshaping the way we age – and why it’s not as scary (or as magical) as it sounds. Introduction “The landscape of health and ageing is undergoing a radical transformation, with artificial intelligence (AI) emerging as a pivotal force.” That line caught my eye somewhere online, and I couldn’t help but think: Really? Many “longevity coaches” I meet can barely explain what longevity means, let alone how AI fits into it. When I first created my Longevity Course back in 2023, I used AI mostly behind the scenes, for drafting, organizing, and fact-checking. But the more I used it, the clearer it became: AI isn’t just a useful tool in the background, I am convinced, it can actively shape how we age. It can help us stay stronger, sharper, and more independent for longer. This matters especially for those of us my age, without children, and fully aware that, given demographic trends, we may have less support when we reach 80 or 90. I’m optimistic – a) I hope that I reach this age and b) and I trust AI to make that future more manageable and dignified. Fast-forward to Q4 of 2025. I finally sat down to connect all the dots and make sense of the advance features I learned during my AI certification program. AI is no longer a distant buzzword, it’s woven into daily life. Many of us already use it without noticing: our phones suggest when to leave for an appointment, our watches nudge us to stand up, and our streaming apps somehow know our mood better than our partners do. So why not use it for something really meaningful – like improving how we age? This article is part reflection, part research. It’s my attempt to sort through the good, the bad, and the slightly creepy sides of AI and longevity. My “Longevity @50plus” course covers already how AI can: All of this by using free AI tools. But let us explore what else is already possible, what’s coming soon, and what might (with a bit of luck) arrive before I’m too old to enjoy it. Part I: The AI-Powered Longevity Journey – Practical Tools Available Today These are the tools we can use right now – no lab, no white coat required. They turn complex health data into simple, actionable insights. That’s the claim. But before we dive in, a gentle word of caution (and I will talk explicitly about the risks at the end of each subchapter): Just because you can track everything doesn’t mean you should. At some point, monitoring every heartbeat, breath, and bowel movement stops improving your health and starts fuelling anxiety. For me, the constant analysis when something deviates from the norm would be maddening – 25 years in Corporate Controlling have hardwired me to chase anomalies, and that habit doesn’t always serve well in daily life. Advanced Metabolic Health in the Digital Age AI-driven apps are redefining how we understand metabolism. It seems as if we are finally moving beyond the outdated “eat less, move more” mantra (which shouldn’t be your mantra to start with). Tools like HUMANITY[i] and Longist assign you a daily “Longevity Score,” showing whether your choices are helping or harming your biological age. It’s like a report card for your life habits – if only school had been this honest. The Longist app even translates meal logs into a projected lifespan impact (a little dramatic, but effective). It’s smart enough to predict whether that late-night pizza will shorten your life or just your patience. Similarly, Purovitalis Aura tracks more than 50 biomarkers to create a full health span profile. Impressive, yes—but also a bit terrifying if you don’t know what half of those markers mean. Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) like Dexcom G7 have also entered the mainstream, merging with AI to give real-time feedback. They can now predict blood sugar spikes, link them to your meals, and even suggest a short walk to flatten the curve. A great step forward – in this context, literally. Reality Check:Let me summarise the risks for you, before we move on: The ability to track everything doesn’t automatically lead to better health – it can easily spiral into obsession. I’ve seen women spend more time worrying about their glucose curves than enjoying their meals. And let’s not forget the price tag: sensors, subscriptions, and smart rings aren’t cheap. For many of us, that money is better spent on high-quality food, not gadgets. Finally: “democratization” of health tracking is a myth if the entry ticket costs a small fortune. Harnessing AI for Hormonal Balance Here’s where it gets good: AI tools that finally take women’s hormones seriously. No more “it’s probably stress” while your gynaecologist shrugs and glances at the clock. And if getting an appointment in under six months feels like trying to get tickets to a Beyoncé concert, AI steps in as your on-call co-pilot. Think symptom tracking without the guesswork, cycle insights that don’t treat you like a mystery, and pattern detection that spots what your calendar, your cravings, and your skin have been trying to tell you. It won’t replace a doctor, but it will help you show up with receipts: clear trends, smart questions, and fewer “wait, when did that start?” moments. The Oova App allows women to do lab-grade hormone testing at home. A simple test strip, a quick scan with your phone, and voilà: you’ll see your levels of estrogen, progesterone, and luteinizing hormone. The app turns these readings into a “Perimenopause Map,” helping you understand what’s behind your mood swings (besides your partner’s behaviour). Then there’s the Clue App, which uses AI to analyse your symptoms, moods, and patterns. It’s a solid option if you’re not ready to dive into the biochemical depths but want to connect the dots between how you feel and what your body’s doing. Both apps can generate doctor-ready reports, bridging the gap between DIY health…

Longevity Meets AI

Longevity Meets AI: How to Age with Confidence and Connection

Ageism, AI, Allgemein, Healthy aging, Life after 50Leave a comment

Introduction Longevity is the hype du jour – everyone wants a slice, often without knowing exactly what it means. You’ll find everything from sensible health advice to eyebrow-raising “bio hacks,” from tools and products that actually help to supplements that are mostly wishful thinking in a shiny bottle. For anyone without a PhD in scepticism, it’s a maze with pricey signposts. Now add the new kid on the block: AI. Cue doom music? Maybe not. Used with common sense (and a decent fact-check habit), AI can cut through the noise, flag nonsense, and even help you personalize what actually matters. In other words: less snake oil, more signal. Curious where the promise ends, and the hype begins and how, even more important, what you can do, without giving up life, as you know it? Read on. But before I dive in, a little recap. In my last blog post, Your Brain on ChatGPT, I wrote about what happens when we rely too heavily on AI tools. I explained why older people (yes, that includes me) might actually be better equipped to use AI wisely, as a tool rather than a crutch. But there’s more to the story. I’m at a stage where retirement is not just on the horizon, it’s already knocking on my door. While I’m excited to enjoy life without constant chores and commitments, my body occasionally whispers: “slow down… and take a nap.” To be honest, sometimes it screams. So, it’s no surprise that I’ve been researching how technology can boost independence, health, and happiness for women 50+. Or, in simple terms: how to enjoy life to the fullest, as long as possible without help. My conclusion? Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers practical, accessible tools that can support longevity, challenge ageing stigma (yes, that feeling of being invisible…), boost emotional wellbeing, and reduce social isolation. From friendly chatbots that make tech less intimidating, to AI beauty apps that let you “try on” new looks without judgment, to virtual communities connecting like-minded women worldwide – AI is proving to be a surprisingly versatile ally. If you keep your BS detector on alert. I remain critical of AI (and I’ll never recommend blind faith), but it isn’t going away. So let’s use it to our advantage and let it help us to make our lives easier, healthier, and longer. Today, I’ll share practical ways AI can help smart, educated women 50+ age vibrantly – since the only way to avoid ageing is, well, not ideal. We’ll explore overcoming tech fears, leveraging AI for age-positive beauty and health (and I will tell you more, how I interpret this), building meaningful connections (yes, also for introverts, like me), and nurturing emotional wellbeing and purpose. This last point is especially important, when the workplace and our grown-up kids no longer need us. Demystifying Tech: Low-Barrier AI Tools to Overcome “Tech Fear” Many women over 50 didn’t grow up with today’s digital technology, so it’s natural to feel intimidated, yes, maybe even afraid of “breaking” something. Should that stop us from using AI? Absolutely not. In fact, I’d argue the opposite: we’re often better equipped to evaluate AI critically. (If you’re curious, read my last LinkedIn article for the full argument.) And since we survived dial-up modems, floppy disks, and printer driver battles, today’s tools feel like a walk in the park. Modern conversational AI, like ChatGPT or Google Gemini, acts as an on-demand tutor and patient digital confidante, answering questions in plain English. Thanks to our life experience, we can separate good answers from nonsense. Learning these tools is straightforward. I am old enough to remember a time, when I had to schedule an appointment with Mr. Schmitt from Helpdesk to configure my new laptop, and it took at least half a day. Today, I am doing this while watching TV. Voice assistants and chatbots already help with hands-free information searches, reminders, and daily tasks. Senior Planet (AARP) even offers free “Intro to Chatting with AI” classes. One especially empowering tool is Google’s NotebookLM – an AI research assistant designed to work with your own documents. Upload a dense health report, financial statement, or even a YouTube transcript and ask it to explain, summarize, or create a structured report. Unlike general chatbots, NotebookLM is brilliant at turning your content into clarity. (Check out my NotebookLM course, designed specifically with our age group in mind.) The key to reducing tech anxiety? Start small. Use familiar tools like voice assistants, or try ChatGPT via voice so it feels like a conversation. And remember, you can’t “delete the internet.” (My mother’s actual fear. Spoiler alert: it’s impossible.) Communities also help. Online forums like Senior Planet or Aging2.0 show peers learning AI step by step. Seeing women our age succeed makes it less scary. And it takes away this gnawing feeling of being old. Once we join these communities, we admit to being part of the “old people” club. Just check out real role models, (this video introduces 85-year-old Marta Patricia) to see age as just another number. Ultimately, AI should be framed as a tool for independence and lifelong learning. It keeps knowledge at our fingertips 24/7, whether you want to decode new slang, understand a health trend, or find low-impact knee exercises. With patience and the right tools, tech stops being a source of stress and becomes a source of power – and yes, even fun. Ageing Stigma and Beauty: AI as a Guide to Confidence and Self-Care Society’s obsession with youth can make midlife women feel invisible. My face tells my story: lines, freckles, and scars from decades of love, stress, laughter, and grit. I’ve earned them. But when I’m honest – I don’t always need daily reminders of past battles. It’s perfectly fine to explore options for feeling and looking our best. Especially when you feel that your looks no longer reflect the vibrant, active woman you are. Definitely, AI can’t reverse ageing, but it can help you make informed choices. AI-powered…

Cognitive Deobt

Your Brain on ChatGPT: The Cognitive Debt of AI Overuse

Ageism, AI, Cognitive DebtLeave a comment

 (and Why 50+ Might Be Your Secret Weapon) Introduction: A few months ago, I caught myself asking ChatGPT to remember a recipe for me that I’d already cooked ten times. It hit me – I was outsourcing my memory (and trying to make AI responsible for my lack of cooking skills) to an AI. If you’ve ever leaned on ChatGPT to write a simple 3-line email, solve a trivia dispute, or use it to look up synonyms, you know how addictively convenient it is. It’s like having a personal assistant on call 24/7… except this person might be subtly making you forget how to think for yourself. That mental tab you keep opening with AI’s help? It could be racking up a “cognitive debt” – a debt you’ll eventually have to pay in the form of fuzzier memory, weaker critical thinking, and dwindling creativity. Not to talk of feeling insecure when you are completing trivial tasks. But here’s the plot twist: those of us who remember life before Google, Facebook and Co. (looking at you, fabulous 50-somethings) might actually be better at using AI without losing our minds. Surprised? Let’s dive into how overreliance on AI tools like ChatGPT can lead to cognitive debt, why it’s a problem for memory and creativity, and why your 62-year-old aunt may handle an AI assistant better than a Gen-Z whiz kid. Along the way, I’ll share some research, a few chuckles, and tips for making AI work with your brain, not against it. The Lure of AI Convenience (and My Brief Life as a ChatGPT Junkie) Picture this: It’s a busy Tuesday, you have three client reports due, a dinner to cook, and a birthday message to write. Instead of juggling it all, you open ChatGPT. Presto! The report outline, based on the AI-generated transcript, appears, the recipe is planned, and you’ve got a heartfelt (if a bit generic) birthday note ready to go. When I was in that situation (ditch the dinner to cook, I made this up) then why didn’t I feel like a productivity wizard? Shouldn’t I? AI tools have become our go-to sidekicks for everything from blog posts, cooking ideas, sometimes travel plans, or advice how I can train my dog to sleep on his couch. I’ve treated ChatGPT like a mix of personal librarian, therapist, and sous-chef, happily delegating tasks I used to do with my own noggin. Or skipped altogether. I am not a good cook, so forget about the recipe part. But then comes the catch. When the ChatGPT servers had an outage, or as happened last week after a thunderstorm, power was gone for several hours, I panicked. I had to write things myself (the horror!). I stared at the blinking cursor, struggling to form sentences that usually flowed effortlessly. It was as if my brain, spoilt by AI shortcuts, went on strike. I wasn’t alone – online, people were freaking out as if coffee had vanished from the planet (that would be a real disaster!). This little crisis shined a light on how deeply dependent we’ve become. What I find so surprising: I never use any text generated by AI, without significant modifications. Or when I use transcripts (sorry, firefly, you have weaknesses). I always rewrite them because I feel, they do not capture the essence of a session. We often skip “traditional” methods like finding info via Google, flipping through cookbooks, or (gasp) asking a friend or family member. Why bother, when my AI browser extension is open all day long? The allure of AI is that it makes hard things easy. It’s like hiring a cab instead of walking in 100 metres. The problem is, if you take a cab everywhere, you might lose the ability (and stamina) to walk even short distances. Our minds work the same way: rely on AI for every mental stretch, and your mental “muscles” don’t get the exercise they need. This is the essence of cognitive debt – you save effort now at the cost of paying later in reduced brainpower. Let’s explore what that means for memory and thinking. Just a little warning at this stage: this is a long article that might exceed your attention span! Just bookmark it and get back later. Cognitive Debt: The Price of Outsourcing Your Brain “Cognitive debt” isn’t a financial term, even though with my history in Controlling, I know a lot about debt. It’s a useful way to describe what happens when we lean too much on AI to think for us. Imagine your brain has a credit card. Every time you avoid mentally wrestling with a problem and let the AI do it, you’re swiping that card. It feels good at the moment (no mental sweat!). But the “bill” comes due eventually: you haven’t trained your memory or critical thinking on that task, so they get a little weaker. Use it occasionally, no biggie. But make it a habit, and interest piles up – you get mentally out of shape. And the debt will hit you when you expect it least. Turns out, this isn’t just a cute analogy – scientific research backs it up. One eye-opening study at MIT had students write essays, some using GPT-4 for help and others using old-fashioned brainpower (and basic internet search). The AI-assisted writers cruised through with less effort, but later on, 83% of them couldn’t accurately remember or quote key points from their essays. In contrast, almost all the non-AI writers remembered what they wrote just fine. Why? Because when the AI helped, their brains kind of checked out – EEG scans showed about half the brain activity in those students compared to the ones writing under their own steam. Essentially, the AI group’s minds were coasting on autopilot, so the material never “stuck” in memory. It’s the difference between passively watching a cooking show versus actively cooking the dish yourself: one is entertaining, but the other one really teaches you how to cook. Researchers are calling…

AI for women 50+

AI That Ignores Women 50+ Is Leaving Money on the Table

Ageism, AI, Financial Planning, Healthy aging1 Comment

Introduction In my last blog article, I introduced Claudia: she is 54, tech-savvy, and pragmatic. She owns two smartphones, a smartwatch, and three laptops, and even jokingly refers to ChatGPT as “that intern I didn’t hire but who keeps showing up anyway”. She’s not an anomaly. In fact, she might be my long-lost twin, separated at birth. Well, not really, since I am a bit older… Women like us, over 50/60 are poised to be AI’s secret power users – if only today’s AI tools were actually designed with us in mind. Yet far too often, AI products and services overlook this demographic’s needs and preferences. The result? Frustration for the users and lost business opportunities for companies. Ignoring women 50+ isn’t just a design flaw; it’s a costly mistake that’s leaving real money on the table. In this article, I will elaborate on some issues. Women 50+ Hold the Purse Strings Women over 50 are a consumer powerhouse, driving a massive share of spending across healthcare, finance, travel, and more. Here’s the deal with women over 50: we are basically the boss-level players of the consumer world. In the US alone, women control a whopping 27% of all spending – that’s about $15 trillion – and Forbes calls them “super consumers.” These aren’t your average shoppers; they’re the healthiest, wealthiest, most active crowd ever, with a combined net worth of around $19 trillion. Even more: we are the queens of healthcare, finance, travel, and wellness spending, especially in Europe and North America, and guess what? These are precisely the areas, where AI plays an important role. But here’s the kicker: businesses are still stuck in “ignore mode,” tossing a mere 5–10% of their marketing budgets at this powerhouse group. No wonder, 91% of Boomer women feel like ads are speaking a foreign language. Or make us cringe. Tech folks? Still designing AI like their users are fresh out of college. Meanwhile, women like Claudia (and I) have been riding tech waves since typewriters but won’t tolerate gimmicks – we want AI that really helps. So, in healthcare, finance, and retail/travel, missing out on “older women” (yep, this hurts…) isn’t just rude, it’s bad business – lost money and loyalty right there. Time to wake up and give us, the super consumers, the spotlight we deserve! Healthcare & Wellness: Overlooking Key Users Women 50+ as Health Decision-Makers Women 50+ are heavyweights in healthcare – as patients, caregivers, and decision-makers. Since this is an area, where I spent the last 10 years, since leaving the corporate world, it is close to my heart. In the U.S., women make 80% of healthcare decisions for their families, and older women themselves utilize healthcare services extensively as they manage chronic conditions, and age-related needs. They also spend billions on wellness products and services. One might expect AI in health tech to prioritize this demographic. In my view, this is one area, where I see tremendous growth, just considering the demographic development. Less young people to take care of older family members…. But today, many digital health tools and AI-driven services still default to a one-size-fits-all young male model, leaving older women frustrated and underserved. We have zero tolerance for clunky interfaces or chatbot “solutions” that talk like robots and act like toddlers. Real-World Risks and Market Gaps The stakes in healthcare are high. Poorly designed AI not only alienates a key user base, but it can also literally be dangerous. For example, due to historical bias in medical research, women are 50% more likely than men to be misdiagnosed during a heart attack. An AI symptom-checker or diagnostic tool trained mostly on young male data might easily miss female-specific presentations of disease. That’s a life-threatening gap and a market gap – an AI that fails to account for older women’s physiology and health concerns will simply not be trusted by them (rightly so). On the wellness side, an AI fitness coach that doesn’t consider menopausal women’s needs, is useless. Or take a mental health chatbot that can’t show empathy for someone caring for an ageing parent – it will probably fail to engage much of its target demographic. How to Fix It – and Why It Pays Off From a business perspective, health and wellness companies that ignore women in our age group are forfeiting loyalty and revenue. My generation is willing to spend on solutions that work – whether it’s a smart wearable that monitors heart health or a tailored digital coaching program for stress management. But if my telehealth chatbot can’t recognize when it’s time to hand off to a human doctor, I might get more serious problems. If my health app’s font is so tiny that I require a magnifying glass to read it, I will certainly not use it that often. You’ll lose us to a competitor who does cater to us. Inclusivity in AI design isn’t just about ethics or compliance; it directly impacts the bottom line. The companies that win in this space will be those who co-create with older women, ensuring the technology truly supports our health priorities. As one set of experts advised, it’s critical to build AI systems that augment human interaction (not cut it off) and provide clear pathways to real caregivers when needed. In short: design your health AI for Claudia’s needs now, and you gain a loyal customer for years to come. Finance & Fintech: Ignoring the Wealth Holders A Rising Financial Power When it comes to money, women over 50 are not just a niche market – we are about to become the new financial power centre. Thanks to career gains and a massive wealth transfer from the Boomer generation, women in the U.S. are expected to control $34 trillion in financial assets by 2030, up from just $7 trillion a decade ago. By the end of this decade, women will hold roughly 38% of all investable assets in the U.S., and a large portion of that wealth will be…

Why AI Development Needs to Prioritize Women 50+

Ageism, AI, Research, ScienceLeave a comment

Let’s be blunt: if you’re a woman over 50, you’ve likely been overlooked more times than you can count – in advertising, in healthcare, and now, in the brave new world of artificial intelligence. But this isn’t just another gripe about being ignored or even insulted. This is about health, wellbeing, and the disturbing fact that the most powerful tools shaping the future of medicine might not even know you exist. Welcome to the strange new frontier where data rules and women 50+ barely register. This was the original title image AI generated when using this prompt: Woman 60-plus, mahogany coloured hair, very short pixie cut, dressed in casual golden-yellow sweatshirt. She is standing in front of a huge widescreen, in a high-tech AI environment. It seems AI doesn’t really know what women aged 50 or 60 and above look like – I always get images of rather young, very slim women, but with hairstyles typical of older people. The Invisible Demographic Women over 50 are not a niche market – they’re a demographic powerhouse. And yet, in the world of medical research and tech development, we’re still treated like a rounding error. The Historical Exclusion “If you look at the history of medical research, women were routinely excluded from clinical trials until the early 1990s,” says Dr. Elena Rodriguez, an expert in women’s health. Why? Because hormones made things “too complicated.” So instead, researchers just studied men – and pretended women’s bodies worked the same way. (Spoiler alert: they don’t.) The result? A knowledge gap so big, you could drive a tour bus full of menopausal women through it. And while the NIH began requiring the inclusion of women in 1993, the damage was done. Especially for older women, who are still vastly underrepresented. A 2023 analysis in The Lancet showed that women over 50 made up just 12% of clinical trial participants – despite representing nearly 20% of the population in developed countries. That’s not a small oversight. That’s systemic invisibility. By the way, this isn’t just a thing in medical research – Social Sciences have their quirks too. When I finished my first doctorate, my supervisor pointed out that most user interface studies rely on white male students. He was actually relieved we didn’t have to use rodents – because he was worried to get way too attached to those little critters. Digital Ageism: A New Twist on an Old Problem Just when we thought we were catching up, along came AI. And with it, a fresh version of the same old bias. Enter digital ageism – a fancy term for what happens when tech is built by and for younger people. “It appears in assumptions about older adults’ capabilities, in designs that ignore vision or dexterity changes, and most importantly, in the data used to train AI systems,” explains Dr. Maya Patel, a technology ethicist. The numbers are shocking: a 2024 study in “npj Digital Medicine” reviewed 78 healthcare AI systems and found that adults over 65 were underrepresented in 83% of the datasets. And women over 50? Represented in fewer than 5% of them. Double Trouble: Gender Bias + Age Bias “When we talk about bias in AI, we often discuss gender and age separately,” says AI researcher Dr. James Wilson. “But for women over 50, these biases compound – making them essentially invisible to AI.” A 2023 study in JAMA Internal Medicine backs him up: AI diagnostic tools performed worse for postmenopausal women than for any other group. Why? Lack of representation in training data. “It’s a classic case of ‘you can’t be what you can’t see,’” adds Dr. Rodriguez. Bias in, Bias out: How AI Can Worsen the Problem You’ve heard the phrase “garbage in, garbage out”? That’s AI 101. If flawed data goes into the system, the AI just learns those flaws by heart. “AI systems learn from historical data,” says Dr. Wilson. “If that data includes the underdiagnosis of heart disease in women or dismissals of menopausal symptoms, those mistakes get baked in.” Real-Life Consequences “These are real systems, affecting real women, right now,” says Dr. Franz (yes, this is me, in one older article). AI Can Create a Vicious Cycle “If an AI system misdiagnoses women over 50, it can lead to worse care,” warns Dr. Sarah Chen. That leads to poorer outcomes, which produces more biased data – and the cycle continues. “It’s a digital version of the Matthew effect – the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer,” explains health equity researcher Dr. Sarah Chen. “In this case, groups that historically received better healthcare continue to do so, while those who were marginalized become further marginalized through algorithmic reinforcement.” Why This Demographic Is So Unique (and So Ignored) AI’s blind spot for women 50+ isn’t just unjust – it’s dangerous. Because our bodies are changing in ways that younger researchers (and algorithms) don’t fully grasp. Menopause and Beyond “Menopause isn’t just hot flashes,” says endocrinologist Dr. Rebecca Martinez. It affects bone density, metabolism, immune response, brain chemistry, and more. Cardiovascular risk goes up, but symptoms look different than in men. If AI systems don’t account for this? Misdiagnoses happen. Multiple Conditions, Interacting in Complex Ways Women over 50 are often juggling several health issues at once: osteoporosis, heart disease, autoimmune disorders. “These don’t exist in isolation,” says Dr. Franz. “AI needs to recognize how they interact – but it can’t if the data’s missing.” We Present Differently Women’s heart attacks often show up as back pain, fatigue, or shortness of breath – not the textbook chest-clutching you see on TV. If AI hasn’t been trained on these patterns, it’ll miss them. We React to Meds Differently As Dr. Lisa Murray points out, “Pharmacokinetics change with age and menopause.” That means AI needs to understand how medications behave differently in our bodies. Right now, it often doesn’t. The Research Gap That Keeps Biting Us Even with NIH policies requiring more inclusivity, the data gap persists. A 2023…

Ageism Menopause Workplace Bias

Ageism, Menopause, and Workplace Bias @50plus

Ageism, Menopause, Workplace BiasLeave a comment

Introduction Welcome to my world—where science meets humour, chaos meets structure, and experience meets an insatiable curiosity for what’s next. I’m Dr. Heike Franz: nutritionist, business whiz, and lifelong learner with two doctorates, an MBA, and an unofficial degree in surviving corporate nonsense. I’ve managed multibllion-dollar projects, untangled financial disasters (yes, including the infamous shoebox accounting system in Beijing), and spent years helping women 50+ regain their health, confidence, and sanity. I’ve lived through the reality of menopause, debunked more nutrition myths than I can count, and embraced technology, including AI, as a way to work smarter, not harder. Oh, and did I mention I share my home with a magnificent Great Dane who believes he owns my office? And who is much smarter than some CEOs I have met. So, if you’re here because: ✔ You’re fed up with being underestimated at work, but don’t have the energy to discuss with supervisors, who are younger than your kids..✔ You’re navigating the delightful (cough) surprises of menopause while still trying to keep up with a fast-paced workplace.✔ You’re tired of 30-year-olds explaining technology to you as if you were raised by candlelight. Then, my friend, you’re in the right place. Let’s get into it. But before we dive in, I must admit that my body is showing signs of wear and tear. I have to pay more attention, eat well (yes, my pet peeve), get rest and enough sleep. I like to think of myself as a classic car – needing a bit more maintenance, the finest fuel, plenty of polish, and a lot of TLC to shine like a true vintage gem! Although nutrition, exercise and stress management are not the focus of this article, I invite you to check out my courses. Your physical and mental well-being is the foundation for the next exciting phase in your life. Yes, Ageism Exists – But So Do You Let’s address the elephant in the boardroom: Ageism is real. It lurks in hiring decisions, offhand remarks about “fresh energy,” and the quiet assumption that we can’t possibly get new technologies. It is common practise to not even read your application, when you are above a certain age. The algorithm doesn’t recognize that you might tick each and every box, overfulfill requirements and are ready to rock ’n roll for the next decade. What these assumptions fail to acknowledge is that we are the women who built businesses, led teams, and survived workplaces before “wellness initiatives” and bean bag chairs became a thing. Our strategic thinking, problem-solving skills, and sheer grit are irreplaceable. 💡 Power move: Flip the script. The next time someone praises a “young, fresh perspective,” respond with, “Absolutely! And when you pair that with my decades of experience, you’ve got an unbeatable team.” Menopause at Work: It’s Not a Dirty Word Ah, menopause. That delightful phase where your body decides to keep things exciting – one minute you’re freezing, the next you’re melting like a human candle. And let’s not forget the brain fog that turns the word spreadsheet into a game of mental hide-and-seek. Yet, in most workplaces, menopause is still a taboo topic. If men had hot flashes, we’d have corporate-funded “Cooling Stations” and mandatory siestas. Since that’s not the case, it’s up to us to normalize the conversation. I’m sure other cultures might see things differently. During my time in Beijing, I had the pleasure of working with Helena, a highly qualified Chinese woman who was going through menopause at that time. Picture this: in the middle of a presentation to Senior Executives, Helena’s face turned as red as a traffic light – she was having a hot flash. We were already over our time, so I suggested a quick break to let her cool off. But Helena, ever the trooper, declared, “Nope, I’m taking questions now. And as you can see, gentlemen, I’m ready to spit fire. So don’t even think about feeding me any nonsense!” Yes, during menopause, our hormones go through quite the transformation, with estrogen – the hormone that turns us into the ultimate caregivers—taking a nosedive. While younger women might be busy playing “office mom,” looking out for everyone’s wellbeing, those of us in menopause are happily handing over the apron. So gentlemen, it’s time to step up and master the art of making your own coffee. Welcome to adulthood! 💡 Power move: If someone comments on your personal desk fan running in the middle of winter, simply say, “Oh, that’s my advanced climate control system.” Own it, with zero shame. And make sure you pay attention to your body. Get rest, get enough sleep and forget that nonsense of working 18 hour-days. AI: Your New Best Friend (No, Really, It’s Not That Scary) Some people assume we don’t do technology. The truth? We just don’t waste time downloading every app a 25-year-old raves about on TikTok. We embrace tools that actually make life easier – like AI. I am using AI extensively and would love to delegate some tasks completely – but we are not yet there. AI is doing a good job, most of the time (I am ALWAYS checking whether he/she/it is again hallucinating, as if on magic mushrooms), but I am adding the cherry on top of the cake. Imagine: 💡 Power move: Next time a younger colleague offers to “walk you through” the latest tech update, say, “Actually, I was just reading about AI-driven productivity tools – what’s your take on integrating machine learning into workflow automation?” Then enjoy watching them scramble. And if you need assistance or would like to learn more about the tools I am using, just let me know. Right now, I am teaching offline courses to local companies. This can easily be brought online. Confidence is Contagious – Start Spreading It A funny thing happens when you walk into a room with confidence – people assume you know what you’re doing. Which, of course, you do. You know your qualifications,…