INTRODUCTION: Bonnie Marcus is an award-winning entrepreneur, Forbes contributing writer, and executive coach. She assists professional women to successfully navigate the workplace and position and promote themselves to advance their careers. With 20 plus years of sales and management experience, Bonnie’s extensive business background includes executive positions in startups as well as Fortune 500 companies. A certified coach, Bonnie has been honored by Global Gurus as one of the world’s top 30 coaches. Her new book is titled NOT DONE YET! How Women over 50 Regin Their Confidence and Claim Workplace Power. (Amazon Affiliate Link). Despite advances made by women in the workplace, pay inequity and under-representation in top positions are still a reality, unfortunately, the situation looks worse for older women, who face the double whammy of gendered ageism. As a woman over 50, you may be wondering if there’s anything you can do as you face down diminished responsibilities, decreasing visibility, and the looming specter of being aged out. In her new book not done yet how women over 50 regain their confidence claim workplace power Bonnie is out to convince you that, in fact, you can do a whole lot. You can keep your job, advance your career, do the work you love and need to do, and defy all the ageist assumptions that suggest otherwise. TALKING POINTS Tell us about your background and the inspiration to write Not Done Yet! Ageism is an equal opportunity un-employer. It’s not just women, but men over 50 who are overlooked and ignored. That said, I think women still get the shorter end of the stick. Am I right? What is the most important thing a woman over 50 looking for a job needs to do? Then there’s the retirement conundrum. As an independent contractor, I’ve found when my primary contact leaves or retires, the person replacing him or her – i.e. the ‘client’ oftentimes is younger and wants to work with their peers, not someone who reminds them of their parents. I would guess this dynamic plays out internally as well. How do you overcome this? Let’s face it Bonnie, if you’re a young, attractive woman with a great personality, that’s all you really need to get ahead in corporate America. Do you agree? However, if your hair is turning grey, you’re overweight, and you’re not what most people would consider attractive, you’re basically screwed when it comes to visibility and promotion within many companies. When you were doing the research for your book Not Done Yet, what were some of the issues that kept coming up over and over again for women over 50? Have you seen a difference between extraverts and introverts over 50 when it comes to promotions and job security? I’m going to lift one of your chapter titles for my next question: how do you respond to ageist comments without getting fired? Additionally, how do you talk to your boss about ageism and sexism? Obviously, most of us are working from home. How has the pandemic affected women over 50? Have you noticed any trends? Has your coaching practice changed? What did you learn that perhaps surprised you researching and writing Not Done Yet? What are the two or three most important take-aways from your book? I’m going to steal a couple Tim Ferriss questions: If you could have a gigantic billboard anywhere with anything on it, what would it say? In the last five years, what new belief, behavior, or habit has most improved your life? What have I missed?
