Monday, January 05, 2004
More women leaving jobs for 'callings'
A growing number of midcareer women - typically 40 to 55 years old - are chucking successful careers, including possible advancement, to pursue their passions.
They're starting new careers and businesses, becoming activists in their communities and returning to school to earn advanced degrees.
Some were waiting for their kids to be grown. Others were fed up with office politics or bumping up against the glass ceiling and decided to put their skills to work in more meaningful ways.
"There's a tendency for women to take on a calling, rather than 'work' work," said Amy Lynch, founder of "Ourselves," an online newsletter for women in midlife.
While the women come from disparate income groups, they are dropping out of corporate America at the top of their game.
The trend may make it even more difficult for women coming up, says Liz Ryan, president of WorldWIT, an online organization of professional women in technology and business. Ryan said employers may begin to question the determination of women workers.
"The status quo will remain the status quo as long as women are not there to change the paradigm," she said.
Some women prolong terms in jobs they no longer want for fear of ruining it for other women following in their footsteps.
In a recent survey by the National Association for the Self-Employed, 85 percent of new women business owners surveyed between the ages of 45 and 54 said they left corporate jobs.
Only 3 percent said they would go back if they had the chance.
Some women opting out of corporate America do so because they have achieved financial stability.
"The trend is happening among people who can afford it," said Sherry Saunders, spokeswoman for Business and Professional Women USA, an advocacy group. "It shows they've already become incredibly successful so that they can walk away from something and say, 'I'm going to do X.' If you have a lot of bills, you can't do that."
If anything, the trend of women taking on second careers and working later into life is gaining momentum as men move in the opposite direction. The Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that labor force participation rates for women 45 to 64 will continue to rise through 2025, while rates for men are expected to shrink.
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