Gendered ageism: Why women are wary of letting their hair go grey

The dismissal of veteran Canadian news anchor Lisa LaFlamme from her news network after 35 long years, allegedly because of her letting her hair go ‘grey’, has kicked up a storm.

LaFlamme’s sudden termination from CTV News, a leading commercial TV network, and the allegations that newsroom executives made comments about her grey hair, have upset and angered people. Media reports talk about how more than 70 prominent Canadian journalists, activists, politicians and artists have signed an open letter condemning LaFlamme’s dismissal. 

Wendy’s goes ‘grey’

Brands jumped in to support her as well: American fast food chain Wendy’s changed the colour of its red haired girl icon into grey in Canada; others like Dove Canada and Sports Illustrated tweeted #KeepTheGrey.

LaFlamme’s employers, however, have denied that her hair colour or her age had anything to do with it. And, they defended her dismissal as a  “business decision”. However, an internal workplace review has been ordered.

Meanwhile, LaFlamme has, in a video clip, admitted that it is “crushing” to be leaving CTV National News in a manner that is not her choice. She said, “I was blindsided and I’m still shocked and saddened by Bell Media’s (CTV News owners) decision. At 58, I still thought I’d have a lot more time to tell more of the stories that impact our daily lives.”

According to media reports, a senior CTV executive is said to have asked “who had approved the decision to let Lisa’s hair go grey” In their letter to the Canadian network, the prominent celebrities wrote that LaFlamme was an asset to the company “until one thing changed: the colour of her hair”.

Also read: Sologamy comes to India: Funda behind Kshama Bindu’s self-marriage act

“In making their ‘business decision’, Bell confirmed one sad truth: even after all the progress women have made, they continue to face sexism and ageism at work every day in a way which is unacceptable,” said the letter, as quoted by media reports.

Whatever the reason that led to LaFlamme’s termination, this incident has put the spotlight on ‘gendered ageism’ once again, a malaise that many older women continue to encounter in the workplace.

Double whammy 

The term ageism was coined by the famous geriatrician Robert Butler in 1969 to describe a ‘distaste for growing old’. But not until a quarter of a century later, the term ‘gendered ageism’ came to be accepted as a space where ageism intersects with sexism. For women, if their hair turns grey, they merely look old, and are accused of letting themselves go.

This is not the case for men. Men who grey look distinguished, and are even celebrated as “silver foxes”. A George Clooney or Steve Carrell, or closer home, an Akshay Kumar or Tamil star Ajith are considered attractive and ‘male bods’ in their distinctive grey hair. In a world obsessed with its emphasis on youth and beauty, women who start to show visible signs of ageing, however, start to feel the pressure.

An academic study in the West has shown that “if ageism is undoubtedly problematic for older workers’ identity processes, ageism and gender stereotypes represent a double risk for women over 50 in the workplace.” 

How gendered ageism bites

The bias erodes women’s self-esteem and confidence, affects their job security and financial future as they are perceived in the workplace as being less valuable, less competent, and irrelevant as they age. Moreover, these women may also be in a position of having no savings and not in a position to lose their jobs.

Also read: How well do these 3 popular anti-ageing skincare ingredients work?

An article in a leading international business magazine written by an executive coach showed through a small survey how gendered ageism is real and continues to get worse in the workplace.

Gendered ageism affects women at all stages of their career but most notably when they are under 35 and over 50, says the study, adding that the emphasis on what they call ‘lookism’ puts pressure on women to appear youthful and often trumps their performance when they are evaluated. As a consequence, many women 50+ are pushed to the sidelines and/or pushed out to make room for younger workers. Though this is also true for men, women experience this earlier.

The ‘ideal’ woman

“Ideal” images and media representations of women exaggerate expectations of what beauty is in a woman. She has to be forever youthful, thin, light-skinned and toned. This is really not how the majority of women, especially older women, look.

Ageing women are judged the harshest in society. If a woman has lost her youthfulness, she becomes less desirable.

An article in The Conversation talking about the LaFlamme case says these harmful standards of beauty and ageing have ignited calls for an intersectional approach to address the cultural expectations of ageism and physical appearances. Leading feminist scholars like Susan Bordo have stated that as women are socialised to be more worried about their physical appearances and ageing, the more damaged their self images and confidence will be.

Interestingly, LaFlamme’s predecessor, Lloyd Robertson, had stayed in the anchor’s chair long after his hair turned grey, and was allowed to leave on his own terms at the ripe age of 77.

Also read: Jada Pinkett Smith and Black women’s hair: A history of disrespect

Growing awareness

Hillary Clinton’s oft-repeated quote about paying attention to your hair, because everyone else will, drives home the message that whatever a woman does or does not do with her hair will affect how others respond to her and thus her social power. But there is a growing movement amongst women today (after COVID, when women could not visit salons) to stop dyeing their hair and choose instead to go naturally grey.

Online spaces representing grey-haired women today encourage others to accept and flaunt their natural hair. One such platform is the popular Instagram handle @grombre, which is a radical celebration of the natural phenomenon of grey hair. With 909,000 followers, the handle shares photos of contributors in various stages of greying. Actors like Ratna Pathak Shah too flaunt their grey hair.

Declining to use dye and to adopt such a potent, universal symbol of age as grey hair may seem hazardous (as Lisa LaFlemme found out) for older women who often find themselves at the intersection of ageism and sexism.

According to experts, as more women (and ageing women) exist in the workforce, it is upto companies to learn how to retain, respect and develop older employees. Responding to the treatment meted out to LaFlamme and making her an inspiring role model may be the beginning of a positive change.

In India, which is ranked 140 out of 156 countries in gender equality in the Global Gender Gap Report 2021 published by the World Economic Forum, the problem is further compounded. However, women rights activists are increasingly advocating that older women should not be ignored when it comes to discussing gender equality. They want measures to be adopted to eliminate gender discrimination, especially among older women, to create awareness about gender equity through various media and sensitisation of younger generations towards the unique needs of older women in society. 

The narrative about older women needs to change; for this, the lens with which they are looked at needs to change, say experts.