The good news is that both parties now recognise that winning the women’s vote will be the crucial factor in winning the upcoming federal elections. Describing it as “pink-vis” instead of “hi-vis”, David Speers host of ABC Insiders, makes a good case for this in a recent article.

But the bad news is that Speers speaks mainly about young mothers in the 20-45 age group in marginal seats. He says that the parties know that “young women are more willing to shift their vote than older women or men.”

And with that he dismisses further discussion of the votes of older women.

Not so fast, Mr Speers.

Dear Supporters of WomanGoingPlaces social enterprise,

We would like to wish you a lovely Christmas and Season’s Greeting.

We hope that 2022 will be a year of good health and much joy for you.

Thank you for supporting WomanGoingPlaces to campaign for the economic security and social inclusion of women aged 50+.

We women over 50 have to be like Iris Apfel.
Refuse to be invisible.
Refuse to accept the crippling stereotypes society imposes on us.
Affirm our value and proclaim our stories.
This is who we are.
This is what we have done and will continue to do.
Just watch!

In 1972 when Caroline Jones became the first female head of 4 Corners, the headlines screamed: ‘Girl will take over 4 Corners’, and ‘Brains now, beauty next’.

It has taken half a century to develop a critical mass of women journalists to fundamentally change the media in Australia. 

There is now an outstanding coterie of experienced, veteran, senior female journalists in mainstream media who have not only distinguished themselves but also changed the national debate.

Oh, and female journalists are now called women and not girls.

Why have we established WomanGoingPlaces as a Social Enterprise Advocating for Australian Women Aged 50+?

Governments and societies around the world have no idea what to do with an ageing population of women. By 2030, 28.7% of Australians will be aged 55 and over. The majority will be women. Women over 50 already represent 35% out of the total Australian female population of 12.9 million.

There are no policies and no roadmaps for such a radical change in the composition of society and the impact it will have on the economy. Instead, this whole issue is overlooked, ignored and cloaked with a mantle of invisibility by governments, business, the media, and sometimes even some women’s organisations.

In Australia, the US, England and indeed globally, older women are facing significant economic insecurity and social exclusion, particularly since the pandemic. Over a million Australian women 50+ are already below the poverty line and more than 400,000 are homeless. They are the demographic becoming homeless in greatest numbers at the fastest rate. The scale and severity of the social dislocation, impoverishment and homelessness of Australian women 50+ must be recognised as an escalating social crisis.

WomanGoingPlaces is dedicated to spotlighting this crisis and to advocating for action. Our journalism identifies the broader issues of the position of women 50+ in our society. We campaign against the barriers, discrimination and general invisibility we face. WomanGoingPlaces also tell the stories of Australian women50+, society’s unlikely innovators, re-inventing ourselves and re-defining how women age. This is our social purpose.