The Value of Women’s Longevity, Wisdom, and Lived Experience
How the Job Market Continues to Undervalue Experience, Caregiving, and Women’s Leadership
For Decades, Women Have Done Exactly What Society Asked of Them
We built careers from the ground up. We stayed loyal to employers. We mastered our crafts. We raised children, supported partners, cared for aging parents, and still showed up to work every day with professionalism and purpose. We became problem-solvers, mediators, leaders, and caregivers—often all before noon.
Yet today, many highly experienced women find themselves locked out of the very job market they helped sustain.
This is not a coincidence. It is a systemic failure.
Longevity Is Not a Liability—It Is an Asset
Longevity represents consistency, resilience, and accountability. It reflects years of learning what works—and what doesn’t. Women who have remained in the workforce for decades bring something no algorithm can replicate: judgment shaped by experience.
- They know how to navigate crises without panic.
- They understand people, not just processes.
- They’ve learned how to lead with empathy while still delivering results.
Yet too often, longevity is reframed as being “overqualified,” “too expensive,” or “not the right cultural fit.” These labels disguise a deeper discomfort with experience that cannot be exploited or rushed.
Wisdom Comes From Carrying More Than a Job
Women’s wisdom is forged in complexity.
It comes from balancing paid labor with unpaid labor.
From making decisions that affect families, teams, and communities.
From being accountable not only to employers, but to children, parents, and loved ones who depend on them.
This lived reality sharpens skills that organizations claim to want—emotional intelligence, time management, adaptability, and ethical leadership—yet routinely overlook when evaluating candidates.
Lived Experience Builds Better Workplaces
Women with lived experience don’t just do the job.
- They anticipate problems.
- They mentor others.
- They stabilize teams.
- They create environments where people feel seen, heard, and supported.
These are not “soft skills.” They are business-critical capabilities.
Companies that sideline experienced women lose institutional memory, cultural continuity, and leadership depth. They trade wisdom for short-term savings—and pay for it later in turnover, disengagement, and burnout.
The Economic Reality Women Face
The outdated belief that women can rely on a spouse for financial security has no place in today’s workforce—yet it still quietly shapes hiring and compensation decisions.
Women are often the primary or sole breadwinners.
They support children.
They care for aging parents.
They plan for their own retirement.
And still, women are offered lower wages, fewer opportunities, and less flexibility—despite equal or greater qualifications than their male counterparts.
This is not just inequitable. It is economically unsustainable.
The Machine Is Broken—And Women Have Been Holding It Together
For generations, women have adapted to a system that was never designed for them. They’ve learned to work harder, prove more, and accept less—while keeping families and workplaces functioning.
But adaptation should not be the cost of participation.
The future of work demands something better.
A Call to Employers and Leaders
If organizations want stability, innovation, and long-term success, they must stop filtering out experience and start valuing it.
That means:
- Recognizing longevity as leadership
- Paying equitably for expertise
- Creating flexible roles without career penalties
- Actively recruiting experienced women
- Treating lived experience as a strategic advantage
Hiring women with wisdom is not charity. It is not nostalgia. It is smart business.
Women’s longevity, knowledge, and lived experience are not remnants of the past. They are the foundation of a stronger, more sustainable future of work.
It’s time the job market caught up.
About the Author: Françoise Mueller
Françoise Mueller is a woman with decades of experience helping clients navigate complex issues. She combines expertise, compassion, and strategic insight to advocate for solutions that empower both individuals and organizations. Françoise is passionate about championing the value of experience, wisdom, and resilience in the workforce for women.
