Ageism – got an interview only when she darkened her age

Marie-Louise Kanon became unemployed when she was 58.
With the adult children out and the opportunity to invest everything at work, she thought she was a cut in the labor market.
– I thought I had a choice, but it turned out to be the opposite.

Marie-Louise Kanon was forced to quit her job when the company she worked on went bankrupt at the end of 2022. Despite long experience as a manager in communication, it turned out to be difficult to find a new job.

Did not print his age

It was not something she could have predicted.

– I thought it was my peak. I had a lot of experience and good references. I have found a calm in myself at work. And with people, I can take conflicts. So I thought I was a cut, says Marie-Louise Kanon in News Morning.

She applied for at least 25 jobs a month, but didn’t even get an answer. It was only when she hid her age that she was called for an interview.

– Within a week I got an answer and was called an interview. Only on that application.

It led to a video meeting, but she never heard from the company again.

“Got an identity crisis”

She tried to do the same way twice, with exactly the same result.

– After the third time I just felt … no, but it crashes. You have children who have moved out, who may not need one in the same way anymore. And then you have your professional identity – and then it should only be removed from one. I got an identity crisis, I think.

Marie-Louise Kanon is not unique. Aller Media has been conducted, “just a figure”, which shows that the phenomenon of age discrimination is particularly widespread among women.

– Hundreds of women who have contacted us and told us. We have an example of a manager who said, “We do not want a menopause.” There are so many affected, it is a disaster, says Eleonor Björch Lowe, journalist at Aller Media.