Media

Angel France, Editor-in-Chief of Female Entrepreneurs Magazine, and Helen Hirsh Spence, Founder of Top Sixty Over Sixty, discuss age discrimination, longevity literacy, and the strengths of older adults. As lifespans grow, our thinking about work, retirement, and ageing must evolve. Helen also shares helpful tips about becoming an entrepreneur in your sixties and seventies.

Elizabeth Naumovski and Helen Hirsh Spence discuss the benefits of aging and the connection between your mindset and aging. Women are discriminated against for many things, and one of them is aging. Ageism is everywhere, especially in our workforce. Helen says, “Aging isn’t a countdown, it’s a count up to unparalleled value and wisdom. Aging is the triumph for living.”

Host Jane Leder and Helen Hirsh Spence discuss ageism, self-directed ageism, and taking calculated risks to move out of your comfort zone. When we think positively and optimistically about our longer lives, we have the opportunity to extend our lives another 7.5 years, according to Yale Professor, Dr. Becca Levy.

Donna Cravotta chats with Top Sixty founder Helen Hersh Spence about her fascinating background as an educator, international volunteer, TEDx and International Keynote Speaker, Age Provocateur, Mindset Shifter, Longevity Literacy Coach and Trainer. The conversation covers entrepreneurship, age diversity, and how mixed-age workplaces benefit all.

Notes Helen in the podcast, “We have to educate people because… when you introduce that phrase [You look good for your age], people think it’s a compliment. I think many of us took it as a compliment until we realized, “What does my age look like? What does any age look like?”

“Ageism—the bias or prejudice based on age—continues to be socially acceptable, going largely unnoticed,” says Helen Hirsh Spence. “It’s evident everywhere and every day. It’s visible at the checkout in the grocery store, in our healthcare system, and throughout the service industry. If you’re labeled a ‘senior’ you are considered frail, vulnerable and in decline.” 

Retirement at 65 is an antiquated notion, says Helen Hirsh Spence, founder of Top Sixty Over Sixty, which helps organizations understand the value of having a multi-generational workforce. “Older adults have what’s called crystallized intelligence. Young people have fluid intelligence,” said Spence. “You need both.”

More a spontaneous conversation than an interview, Elizabeth Overstreet and her husband chat with Helen Hirsh Spence about embracing age. Helen explores ageing and guides us through the profound shift that occurs when we adopt a longevity mindset.

Social entrepreneur and founder of Top Sixty Over Sixty, Helen Hirsh Spence, was one of the residents who was asked for her budget wish list. Helen hoped, “…the budget includes resources for age-diversity training to be included in all diversity strategies; incentives for employers to retain, hire and retrain older employees…”

International Women’s Day can feel like a bit of a whirlwind due to the many celebrations that take place. That’s why it was nice to have one last hurrah during the waning days of March at an International Women’s Month reception hosted by Liberal Ottawa-Vanier MPP Lucille Collard.

CABHI panellists Bianca, Adele and Helen offer insights, personal experiences, and research studies to help audience members grasp the concept of ageism, from defining ageism to explaining its many forms, the associated dangers, and how we can overcome it.

Helen notes, “A third of the population in Canada is almost 65 and older. In the United States, ten thousand people turn 65 daily. We need to change the way we think about ageing and begin to think of it as the positive force that it is”.