As I move past middle age, I often reflect on the privilege of my many decades of life and the inner strength and authenticity that accompany aging. Recently, when I was invited by BC Business to write an op-ed about my experience as a woman in finance, I was given the opportunity to pause and look back on my career and the path that has shaped it.
That reflection has meant many things. It has required me to acknowledge the messiness and pain woven through my own evolution, and to recognize how those experiences have not only shaped me but ultimately deepened the pride I feel in who I am today. I never imagined myself at this age, yet I am genuinely — and gratefully — surprised by the comfort, clarity, and confidence I have found in my late 50s.
For years, I have heard women lament the “invisibility” that comes with aging beyond middle age. I choose to see this differently. My view is that age brings a more discerning and meaningful kind of visibility. As we age, we have the opportunity to be visible for who we truly are: for our contributions, creativity, intelligence, and perspectives. We are no longer obscured by youth and its energetic impact as we move through the world. We are free to become the observer rather than the observed, to embrace the respect of “ma’am” rather than the occasional condescension of “miss.”
I have noticed that the women I respect and admire most are well past middle age. Their willingness to speak their minds, share their wisdom, and extract insight from missteps and misfortune is deeply inspiring to me and to many others. It is as if they no longer subscribe to outdated expectations of who they should be, and instead fully embody their positions as wise arbiters of insight and guidance.
Jane Fonda, now 88, is one such woman. Her words, authenticity, and presence are not just inspiring, but profoundly impactful. I had the good fortune of being in the room with her at a recent wellness conference and was moved by her keen ability to self-reflect and articulate her experience. I was struck by her age-earned capacity to contextualize her life within history, to make meaning of her evolution, and to understand how she intersected with social movements and cultural norms. Her relevance and gravitas were evident in every story she shared. I was especially moved by how she spoke about community, women’s natural capacity for connection, and her concern for a society increasingly obsessed with hyper-individualism at the expense of the collective. These insights come only from having lived it. The strength of her voice, the power of her posture, and her ability to fully own her space in the room took my breath away and left me aspiring to age with similar presence and conviction.
Dr. Martha Piper, former president of the University of British Columbia and a recipient of both the Order of British Columbia and the Order of Canada, is another woman whose strength and courage have had a profound impact on me. She joined our Women’s LEAD panel in 2023 at the age of 77 and, according to both me and many younger audience members, was one of the most inspirational women we had ever witnessed. Her perspective was unvarnished and free from the contrivances and careful obfuscation that can shape narratives mid-career, when every word feels strategic. Her message was clear: women cannot have it all, at least not all at the same time. There are trade-offs, opportunity costs, and moments of outright failure in one area alongside success in another. She spoke passionately about the importance of women sponsoring and mentoring other women, and about fighting for universal daycare. She also spoke openly about hardship, adversity, and the injustices that tested her resolve.
Both Jane Fonda and Martha Piper are decades ahead of me, yet they buoy my spirit when I think about aging, impact, and voice. Their strength of spirit, determination, and generosity make them deeply seen and felt by those around them. They have contributed meaningfully to history in their own ways, but they have not stepped aside. Quite the opposite. Each continues to share the wisdom of her journey, to lift those coming up behind her, and to lean fully into her presence, becoming more visible than ever.
On International Women’s Day, my hope is that we all embrace the wisdom and gift of aging and recognize our ability to be a source of hope, guidance, and light for the women who follow.