Midlife Intersectionality for Working Women

Original Australian research into the real experience of women over 35 at work - and why the system keeps letting them down.

In 2025 I surveyed 40 Australian working women over 35. Not a government study, not a corporate wellness report. Real women, real answers, about what work actually feels like when you're navigating midlife without a map.

What they told me was not surprising. Not to me, anyway.

But it was important enough to write down, properly, and put it somewhere people could find it.

The numbers:

  • 98% report overwhelm balancing professional and personal demands

  • 74% are navigating both parenting AND perimenopause or menopause at the same time

  • 43% experience anxiety or stress almost every single day

  • 38% identify as diagnosed or suspected neurodivergent

  • 65% have never sought professional career development support - despite all of the above

That last number is the one that stays with me.

Who this is for:

  • You're a midlife woman and you found yourself in those numbers.

    You're not imagining it. The research backs up what your body has been telling you for a while. Download the white paper, then come and find me.

  • You work with midlife women - in HR, EAP or an organisational setting.

    This research has direct implications for how organisations support women in their 40s and 50s. If you'd like to talk about what that looks like in practice, reply to the email or give me a call. My contact details are in the email with the White Paper.

  • You're a journalist, podcaster or media professional.

    I'm available for comment, interview and collaboration on any of the topics covered in this research. My contact details are in the email with the White Paper.

What the research covers:

The white paper examines why midlife is such a specific and underserved pressure point for working women - not just as a personal experience, but as a structural and systemic one. It covers:

  • The five personas that emerged from the data (and why they matter for how we support women at work)

  • The role of identity, capacity and chronic overstretching in career stagnation

  • Why 'keep swimming' has become the dominant coping strategy - and what it costs

  • What the research says about neurodivergence, perimenopause and work

  • What genuinely useful career support looks like at this life stage

Download your free copy