Shattering Stereotypes: How Today’s Women Over 50 are Redefining What’s Possible On-screen, at Work, and at Home

Women over 50 are more active, more ambitious and more influential than ever. They run companies, march for human rights and work daily to advance their communities, their families and their bottom lines. The 50-plus woman is successfully redefining these years as her new prime time, but a search for herself on-screen betrays her near-invisibility.

When it comes to representation on TV, Gracenote Inclusion Analytics show that men are on-screen more than women (62% screen time vs. 38%), even though women make up more than half of the U.S. population. But for women over age 50, who represent 20% of the population, the share of time on-screen plummets to just 8%. Forward-thinking content creators and brands know that must change. 

When women over 50 do find talent from their identity group on screen, we see the success of content that features them in roles that match their lived experience as well as their aspirations. The television industry has a valuable  opportunity to expand how women 50 and above are represented in both ads and content in ways that capture the varied experiences of what many women in this life stage consider their prime.  In this Diverse Intelligence Series report, we show where key opportunities lie and how overlooking “women of a certain age” means undervaluing not only their influence in society, but ultimately your own brand’s potential.