“Woman aged 45 playing croquet” Yep, that’s what I plugged in to Midjourney.

Prior to 2017 I wanted to bitch slap any young white woman who said she wasn’t a feminist. We’d fought so hard for the things they took for granted. How dare they!

Then came the white woman’s #MeToo and we became legion. I couldn’t have been more proud.

Today I can’t bring myself to call myself a feminist. I can’t align myself with an ideology that goes against every ounce of my being, personal experience, and beliefs.

Twice as many women than men have left the workforce since the pandemic.

A third of mothers have scaled back or left their jobs since lockdown.

Women participating in the paid workforce has dropped to 1980s levels.

It’s a headhunter’s and HR person’s worst nightmare.

Good.

Because their ageism has made midlife professional women’s lives hell for years.

Last week was great for older women, there were mature women on television, radio and the press in unprecedented numbers. It was menopause week. Older women got a flush of publicity.

Then it was over.