Recently, the topic "Why do you rarely see women around 40 years old in the workplace" has aroused heated discussions among netizens.
Everyone has found that there are almost no women in their 40s in the company.
Obviously a group of women with top-notch ability and rich work experience, why don't they work at the age of 40?We would love to know what happened to them.
After interviewing several female friends around us and reading N reports, we found the truth about women in their 40s who disappeared from the workplace.
The reason why women in their 40s "disappear" in the workplace can actually be glimpsed in thousands of comments.
A very small number of people choose to retire early to enjoy life because they have no financial pressure.
The original family is rich, the husband's financial ability is solid enough, and there is no pressure of RV loans, so that these women in their 40s have the confidence to give up their careers. Tutoring children every day, drawing and arranging flowers, gathering and traveling with friends, the years are quiet.
And most people, between career and family, choose the latter.
Because there is no one to take care of the children, and because of the deep-rooted thinking of "the male dominates the outside, the female protagonist is inside" in China, many partners and even women themselves will choose to sacrifice their careers and return to the family.
The most common situation is that you are "forced" to be laid off even though you want to continue working.
Every time a company cuts costs, it takes the lead in middle-aged people over 40 years old. And in this group, women who want to give more energy to the family tend to be the first choice.
We have all fantasized in our early 20s when we were not going well at work: when my wife is in her thirties or forties and saves enough money, we will retire early to enjoy life, and we will not be angry again!
But when I was in my 30s, I suddenly found that I didn't seem to have the right to choose in life;At the age of 40, it is more like an invisible door, and when you walk in, you will disappear into the dust.
These phenomena in the post are not unique.
Yang Juhua, a professor at the Center for Population and Ethnic Development Research, said that women's employment is under-utilized, and their human resources are underutilized. Over the past 30 years, the female employment rate has averaged 0The rate of 64 percentage points decreased.
The results of multiple social surveys consistently show that leaving infants and young children unattended is a key driver for women to choose part-time work, informal employment, and even return to the family.
Seeing this, some people may ask and say: Don't men take care of children?
On this issue, let's put a set of data for everyone to experience.
According to the "2023 Survey Report on the Status of Women's Workplaces in China" released by Zhaopin, more than 4 percent of women work more than 9 hours a day, and they are also the main force of houseworkMore than half of men spend less than one hour a day doing housework.
Basically, women work hard in the company during the day, go home at night to take care of the baby, and have to do housework in their spare time.
See, after giving birth to a baby, women almost have to work three jobs. After a long time, it is likely that you will not be able to hold on and choose to resign.
Specific to the workplace, today in 2024, women still encounter discrimination in marriage and childbirth in their career development.
According to the 2023 Survey Report on the Status of Women's Workplaces in China, more than 6 percent of women are asked about their marriage and childbirth in job hunting.
A survey by Chinese economist Ren Zeping and his team found that some companies believe that women will become pregnant, take maternity leave and breastfeed children after marriage, which will increase the cost of human resources. Therefore, women of childbearing age are treated differently in recruitment.
Last year, a woman in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, was rejected because she was unmarried and had no children when she applied online. The person in charge of the company said unabashedly: Priority will be given to married and childbearing, and such personnel are relatively stable.
See, women are not favored in the workplace, not because they are not good, but because they cannot continue to work.
According to research data from the School of Sociology of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, the odds of employment for women with one child have decreased by about 66%, with two children it will drop again by 93%。
In addition, previous studies have found that compared with before giving birth, the hourly wage rate of women after giving birth to their first child decreased by 7%, and the hourly wage rate of giving birth to their second child decreased by 168%。Men, on the other hand, have little to no effect on fertility.
See, women have to bear the cost of childbirth and parenting, and they also have to accept the "punishment of motherhood". And everyone assumes that men will be more stable and responsible after becoming fathers, so they will give "fatherhood rewards".
Countless studies and data show that when women enter their thirties and forties and become mothers, they will face higher barriers to job hunting, worse job stability, fewer opportunities for promotion, lower salaries and wages, and so on.
We are almost certain that women in their 40s who disappear into the workforce are more forced to do so out of necessity.
As a woman, after reading thousands of comments and countless research reports, I feel very uncomfortable. If you think about the examples around you, they are indeed bloody realities.
Qiu Qiu (not her real name), who had already reached the management level in a construction company, was 36 years old when she was pregnant, and because she was an older mother, she often had to take time off work to go to the hospital. In the third trimester, it is difficult to do high-intensity work such as going out and traveling in other places, and the projects in hand are gradually handed over by the boss to other colleagues.
When she returned to work after maternity leave, her boss transferred her to the logistics department on the grounds that she did not have a suitable project, and her income was cut in half. Qiu Qiu was unacceptable, but he had no choice.
In 2018, after Li Ying (pseudonym) gave birth to a child, her husband advised her to take care of the child at home with peace of mind, and wait for the child to go to school before looking for a job again. So she quit her job and worked as a stay-at-home mom for 3 years.
After three years of life without income, no social circle, and handling all things at home, it was hard to survive until the children went to kindergarten, but Li Ying found out that her husband was having an affair. She was angry and quarreled, but more of a grievance that could not be told, and finally negotiated a divorce.
After that, Li Ying no longer had any financial support. She tried to find something to do, and found that the only jobs that accepted her at the age of 41 were waitresses, cashiers, nannies, confinement maids, and the like.
Last year, she had surgery for breast fibroids, hospitalization and some expenses, which cost more than 6,000. Doctors advised her to stay in the hospital for a few more days, but in order to keep her hard-earned job, she chose to leave the hospital and rush to work.
In real life, most women's experiences are actually very similar. The work is hard-working, but it is still the most passive existence in the workplace;gave up his dreams and career for the sake of his family, but he was still disliked by the people he loved the most.
Female star Jolin Tsai once said at a concert: "40 years old is a great age, if you haven't reached 40 years old, let me tell you, 40 years old really feeldamngood!."”
There is also the popular variety show "Sister Riding the Wind and Waves" in the past two years, more than a dozen + female stars participated in the talent competition and broke the age limit to make a new debut.
40-year-old female stars and 40-year-old ordinary women, we don't know if there are barriers.
But one thing we can be sure of is that most 40-year-old ordinary women don't have much opportunity to ride the wind and waves, and more in their 40+ years of life, picking up pots and pans and overcoming obstacles.
After being beaten hard by reality, many women understand a truth:
If you have money, you can leave when you want to, without looking ahead;If you have money, you can choose what you want, and you don't have to make compromises.
This vulgar and simple truth, I hope all female friends can understand it in time.
I also hope that all girls can prepare for the future when they are young and capable in their twenties and thirties.
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Make sure that you don't rely on people when you get sick in the future, don't rely on people for life, and don't rely on people for retirement, and promise yourself a lifetime of freedom.
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