이 에피소드에 관해
This week, the Katies get into why experienced comms pros get quietly sidelined right as they hit their peak, and what you can do about it whether you hire people or you're the one job hunting.
This one started with a LinkedIn post and a UK article that went viral. A deeply senior communications professional couldn't land a role and ended up on the benefit system. The feedback she kept hearing was that her skills didn't meet the need, which is a strange thing to tell someone with 25 years of experience. So we pulled the numbers, checked our own bias, and talked through what fixes this.
The stats:
- 78% of women in communications feel overlooked from age 40 onward
- 72% of women over 40 fear their age will block them from a new role
- 40% believe men never get sidelined for age. When men do feel it, it lands at 60+
- Reports of ageism rose from 41% in 2021 to 59% in 2025
- Only 11% of organizations have any age-related DE&I target
Chapters
- 0:00 - Does ageism exist in comms?
- 2:30 - The data
- 5:00 - Why 40 is the turning point
- 8:00 - The stats, read out
- 12:00 - Owning our own age bias
- 16:00 - When fresh ideas get equated with youth
- 20:00 - The business cost of losing experience
- 25:00 - What companies can do
- 29:00 - What you can do for your own career
- 34:00 - Community stories and resources
Resources mentioned
- Jo Carr, "PR's dirty little secret: ageism starts at 40," PRMoment: https://www.prmoment.com/opinion/prs-dirty-little-secret-ageism-starts-at-40
- Becky Snazell's original LinkedIn post: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7490749519626887168/
- Mixing Board: our homies who sent in stories
People also asked:
Does ageism exist in PR and communications? Yes. In a study, 78% of women in comms said they feel overlooked from 40 onward, and reported experiences of ageism rose from 41% in 2021 to 59% in 2025.
At what age does ageism start in PR? Around 40 for women in communications. Men tend to feel it much later, past 60.
Why does ageism happen in comms? A lot of it comes from an unconscious bias that ties fresh ideas to youth, plus agency and startup cultures that skew young. Experience gets read as expensive or out of touch when it's often the thing a business needs most.
What can you do about ageism in your comms career? Reframe your CV around outcomes, build a personal brand, keep current on new tools, and consider consulting where deep experience is the selling point.
About Smart in Public
A podcast about business, careers, and life through the eyes of comms, PR, and marketing people. New episodes weekly with hosts Katie Boysen and Katie Dufficy. Got an ageism story or a guest idea? Drop it in the comments.
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