By Susan Solomon Yem
Earlier this month Challenger, Gray & Christmas released a stunning jobs report announcing the highest January job cuts since 2009 and the lowest January hiring on record. U.S. employers laid off 108,435 workers in the first month of this year, up 118% from the same period a year ago and 205% higher than December 2025. It’s bad news for everyone, but especially for women, who are disproportionately affected. Close to 500,000 women left the workforce in 2025 with 42% exiting due to layoffs. For those of us in midlife, finding the next job comes with the unique challenges of ageism and sexism.
It’s Not Personal, It Just Feels that Way
I was one of the thousands laid off in January. I’d only experienced a layoff once before. Back then I’d seen the writing on the wall, so I was prepared and found another position quickly. This time it felt different. The day after our first team meeting of the new year, where a record number of new clients were announced, I received an email letting me know my contract would not be renewed for 2026. The company had recently been sold, and the new owners were embarking on a round of cost-cutting. In fact, several employees had already left voluntarily. Even though I knew the decision was not personal, it still hurt.
“A layoff is a hard thing to go through,” says Maureen Wiley Clough, who works with organizations and individuals in midlife to address aging in the workplace and hosts the podcast, It Gets Late Early: Ageism in the Workplace. “It’s not always about performance. You can do the best job ever and still find yourself on the layoff list.”
Wiley Clough has been laid off twice during her career. “It was hard to process,” she recalls. “I knew I was a high performer – very ambitious, always striving. I prided myself on what I was able to achieve, so it was shocking that someone who worked as hard as I did and cared as much as I did could still find myself out of a job.”
Layoffs are different for mature women. Wiley Clough explains, “They hit harder because of how older women are marginalized in the workplace. We’re seen as the office mom. We’re considered irrelevant and obsolete. We’re not hip or cool, innovative or ambitious. That makes it challenging to face a job search at this time of life.”
It takes twice as long as the rest of the workforce to find a new job over the age of 50. Plus, your new salary may not match what you previously earned. On top of that, research shows women as young as 40 experience gendered ageism. Two-thirds feel more pressure than men to look younger. “When we’re younger, we want to look older and when we’re older, we want to look younger,” Wiley Clough says. “A lot of us feel like we have to change the way we appear to be taken seriously. It’s frustrating that our work can’t speak for itself.”
Give Yourself Grace
“Layoffs are deeply traumatic,” says Chicago-based psychotherapist and organizational psychologist Laura Louise Green. “I think it’s scarier for women because we tend to feel a deeper sense of loyalty. When we’re laid off, we’re losing our community and that’s frightening. In fact, it’s one of the scariest things we can experience; but when we lose something, we have an opportunity to rebuild what we really want.”
Wiley Cough suggests giving yourself a moment to mourn the job loss. “It’s an emotional gut punch,” she explains. “You’re going to experience the stages of grief. It’s okay to be angry, but then give yourself some grace because it’s going to be a moment before you get your feet under you.”
Wiley Cough recommends leaning into the self-confidence you’ve developed over time; “you’ve gotten through a lot of hard stuff over the course of your life. You will also get through this.”
Green advises women to reach out to their community for support. “I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to connect with other women. The more women you have surrounding you, the more resources you have to maintain resilience, hope, and helpful insight in your job search.”
Maybe It’s Time for a Career Pivot
As Wiley Clough says, it’s exceptionally difficult to get hired today. “It’s never been clearer to me than now that corporate is not the safety net we were told it was. If you‘ve ever considered some sort of a pivot or venture on your own, this is a great time to do that.”
“This can be a wonderful time for self-discovery and growth,” adds Green. “Shift your mindset. I love the idea of making a brain dump of all the things that you like to do. Get creative. Dig back into what the six-year-old version of you wanted to be when you grew up. What are the throughlines in your life of what interests you? You’re drawing a map to where to go next with so many more options.”
Wiley Clough adds, “Start building an off-ramp. That’s the silver lining that makes me super optimistic moving forward. Women will bring life experience, creativity, and a lot of knowledge into making exceptional companies. The possibility of reinvention is a beautiful thing that’s within our grasp. So go for it.”
I am! I’m expanding my own client base, developing a reasonably priced product for organizations that typically can’t afford the services I offer, and telling the stories of women in midlife who, like me, are now on a road towards professional reinvention.