Human Rights Commission report found ‘a third of people who had experienced age discrimination gave up looking for work as a result’
The most common forms of discrimination faced by people over 50 in the workplace include the limiting of employment, promotion or training, the perception that older workers are slow adaptors or have skills that are outdated, and being exposed to ageist jokes or taunts. Photograph: Radius Images/Alamy
More than a quarter of employees aged 50 and over reported experiencing some form of age-based discrimination in the workplace, a new report by the Human Rights Commission has found.
A survey of 2,109 people shows that 27% of older workers said they were the victim of discrimination on at least one occasion in the last two years. That figure jumps to 41% of low-income earners, defined as those who make $35,000 or less a year.
A much higher ratio of single parents with dependent children (45%) reported age-based discrimination in the workplace than those whose children had left home and those without children.
The most common forms of discrimination include the limiting of employment, promotion or training, the perception that older workers were slow adaptors or have skills that were outdated, and being exposed to ageist jokes or taunts.
“The findings of the first national prevalence survey clearly indicate that age discrimination discourages older workers from remaining in, and re-entering the workforce,” the report said.
“It is particularly concerning that a third of people who had experienced age discrimination gave up looking for work as a result. Almost half began to think about retirement or accessing their superannuation fund.”
The report finds that few people choose to take action against the discrimination, while many leave a job as a result of it.
“Unfortunately there is no surprise [in the findings],” the head of National Seniors, Michael O’Neill, said. “This is confirmation of a problem that has been widely reported.”
O’Neill eschews extra regulation or the implementation of quotas for older workers, saying recognising the value of a diverse workplace through cultural change is more effective.
“These results are a call to action for government, employers and all those who make decisions about the hiring, training and promotion of staff,” the report said.
The federal government is pushing to increase the retirement age to 70 by 2035, and its recent intergenerational report highlighted the economic need for workers to remain in the workplace for longer.
Labor increased the pension age from 65 to 67 when it was in government, but opposes the plan to raise the age to 70.
Number of people without jobs at 6.1 per cent, falling for the second month in a row.
The pressure eases on Centrelink … for now. Photo: AAP
The rate of unemployment fell to 6.1 per cent in March, confounding economists’ expectations that it would remain at 6.2 per cent.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported the 0.1 percentage point drop just a day after the International Monetary Fund predicted unemployment to stay well above 6 per cent until 2016.
The news immediately caused the dollar to jump from just over 77 US cents to closer to 78 cents. However it soon dropped to 0.774 US cents.
The ABS said the number of people employed increased in March by 37,700, reaching 11,720,300.
The number of men in full-time employment increased by 24,800, while the number of women in full-time employment increased by 6,700.
The total number of hours worked in March were 1.73 billion.
While the surprise drop in unemployment is potentially very good news for the economy, in trend terms it represents no change, at 6.2 per cent.
Nevertheless, the March figure is far below the IMF’s forecast that unemployment will average at 6.4 per cent for 2015.
Responding to the figures, Employment Minister Eric Abetz said: “We are absolutely determined to create every possible opportunity to create jobs in Australia,” adding that he devotes “every waking moment” to achieving this goal.
Australia’s Human Rights Commission will lead an inquiry into age discrimination in the workforce as the Federal Government finds employment rates for older Australians ‘disturbingly low’.
The Australian government has commissioned a national inquiry into workplace age discrimination.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there are around 5.5 million Australians aged 55 years and over, making up one quarter of the population. But seniors represent just 13 per cent of the workforce.
The Australian Human Rights Commission will lead the inquiry.
‘Employment rates for older Australians and people with a disability remain at disturbingly low levels and we know that is largely as a result of discrimination,’ Attorney-General George Brandis said as the launch in Sydney.
Age and Disability Commissioner, Susan Ryan, said there are many false perceptions about mature workers that are influencing companies hiring decisions.
‘They won’t adapt to change, they won’t learn new things, they won’t get on with the dynamic younger employees.. now, none of that is supported by evidence, but it is still believed by too many employers’ said Ms Ryan.
The Commissioner said senior workers could add billions to Australia’s economy, if there was a slight increase in the number of aged workers.
‘If we could increase the participation of Australians over 55 in the workforce by just five per cent, we would get a $48 billion a year annual impact.’ Ms Ryan said.
According to the Human Rights Commission, unemployement and under-employment of older Australians costs over $10 billion to the economy each year.
‘The Finishing Touch’, a Melbourne based moving and packing company, prides itself on being an age friendly employer and said it’s a win-win situation for companies.
‘We have over a dozen staff working for us currently who are aged 70 years plus. It’s a win-win situation you end up with a great employee whos able to make a really good contribution.’ said Steve Hitchings, the owner of The Finishing Touch.
The moving and packing company employs more than 250 workers – their average age is 56 years old.
Employee, Jan French is 59 years old and said she enjoys her work.
‘I like to keep busy and with this job there’s a lot of flexibility, clock in and out when we want, go for a holiday we can do other things.’ said Ms French.
The inquiry will consult with businesses and members of the community across Australia and could recommend changes to Commonwealth laws.
The inquiry will report to the Federal Government by July 2016.
Older workers make up a distressingly large portion of that group: 45% of job seekers 55 and older have been looking for work for six months or longer.
The AARP report examined the job search strategies that led to reemployment for people age 45 to 70 who were unemployed some time during the last five years.
It found big differences in job search strategies between older workers who landed jobs and those who are still not working.
The overall picture is mixed: Among those older workers employed again after a long time out of the workforce, some were earning more, getting better benefits, and working under better conditions. But for many, the jobs were not as good as the ones they had lost: 59% of long-term unemployed older workers made less money, while 15% earned the same and 25% made more.
So, what set the successful job seekers apart? These moves stand out.
Embrace change. Almost two-thirds of reemployed older workers found jobs in an entirely new occupation and women were more likely to find work in a new field than men. Of course, some of the unemployed didn’t choose to switch occupations. But for others, the change was a decision to do work that was more personally rewarding and interesting or even less stressful with fewer hours. Whether it was by choice or design, broadening your job search may pay off.
Go direct. Older reemployed workers were much more likely—48% vs. 37% of those still looking for work—to contact employers directly about jobs instead of just applying to the black hole of online job postings.
Network strategically. Everyone knows that networking is the best way to get a new job but apparently talking to everyone you know may not be the most effective method. While half of those who landed a new job reached out to their network for leads, only 34% of the unemployed used personal contacts at all. But the reemployed were less likely to rely on friends and family to find out about job opportunities, focusing instead on professional contacts.
Move fast. When hit with a job loss, many people use it as a time to take a break or think about what they want to do next. That lost time can cost you. The reemployed were much more likely to have begun their job search immediately or even before their job ended than those who are still unemployed.
A couple other surprising findings about what works and what doesn’t: Conventional advice is that the long-term unemployed need to keep their skills up to date if they are jobless for a while. While that can certainly help, additional training didn’t make much difference between those who landed a job and those who remained out of work.
As for social media: While 56% of the reemployed found job boards a good source of job leads, just 13% said online social media networks such as LinkedIn and Facebook were effective in helping them get a new job.
Among the most ineffective strategies: Using a job coach, talking with a headhunter, and consulting a professional association.
Mr Hockey’s intergenerational report released last month, highlighted that as Australians are living longer, they need to work longer.
If older workers do not stay in the workforce for longer, fewer people will be working and paying taxes to fund health, education and other things we take for granted today.
“If we don’t do something, we risk reducing our available workforce, impacting negatively on growth and prosperity, and our income will come under increasing pressure,” Mr Hockey said when the report was released.
The intergenerational report, a five-yearly review of the next 40 years, anticipates economic growth will slow slightly due to an ageing population.
Average annual growth is expected to be 2.8 per cent over the next four decades, compared with 3.1 per cent in the past 40 years.
There will be only three workers in the traditional age range (15-64 years) for every person aged over 65 in 2054/55, compared with 4.5 people now and 7.3 in 1974/75.
Mr Hockey has previously stated that increased productivity and workforce participation is needed to drive prosperity through economic growth.
“If we are to achieve these goals, we need to encourage those currently not in the workforce, especially older Australians and women, to enter, re-enter and stay in work, where they choose to do so,” he said.
John Harper has been a plumber for 40 years and hopes to work up to or beyond retirement age
Employers are likely to overlook older job seekers, a new report reveals – but local recruitment agencies say although it is more difficult for those aged over 50 to find jobs they are harder workers.
A survey from the Auckland University of Technology and Equal Employment Opportunities Trust found there was a “tipping point,” typically at about 50-60 years of age, at which workers were seen as less attractive.
It also showed 45 per cent of organisations were facing a skills shortage, which was combated by people continuing to work past retirement age.
“You have to be open to the best person that comes through the door, whether they are male, female, old or young.”
However, negative stereotypes about older workers persisted among some employers, managers, young workers, clients and within society itself, despite it being unlawful to discriminate on the grounds of age in employment under the Human Rights Act 1993 and Employment Relations Act 2000, the survey found.
Human Resource Group company director Brett Looker said: “It is harder once you get over 50.
“It’s possibly a preconceived perception by the general public that candidates may not be as quick to pick up on business systems and processes if they are moving into a new role, in terms of the IT challenges. Another reason is they may not possibly fit with the existing team, which may be younger.”
However, he preferred to steer candidates through to clients in that age group because they often had a strong work ethic, and were reliable and honest.
“You don’t get the contrast of a Generation Y type group, which sometimes isn’t as strong, so there is lots of positives.”
There was a skills shortage in Tauranga in some areas, Mr Looker said, including engineering, housing, construction and senior management roles.
“I interviewed a guy recently who was a quantity surveyor in his late 60s but whether or not I have a role for him is difficult to know, for the very reasons we have talked about.”
1st Call Recruitment managing director Phill van Syp said he found older people “just get on with the job, they are more focused on what they need to do rather than – you know – what is in it for me?” “You would be an ignorant employer if you isolated your market,” Mr van Syp said.
“You have to be open to the best person that comes through the door, whether they are male, female, old or young.”
Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty Grey Power president Christina Humphreys said older people were discriminated against when applying for jobs.
“You don’t get the contrast of a Generation Y type group, which sometimes isn’t as strong, so there is lots of positives.”
“We are having a problem. We know people are not getting the jobs because they are older.”
She knew of people who had applied for over 20 jobs in a month and were depressed after continually making the shortlist but missing out. “They have got the qualifications and they all get to the 11th hour, and we know it’s because they are older.”
Bay of Plenty/Coromandel Master Plumbers Association president Craig McCord said the average age of a plumber was 55 and he employed eight people aged over 50.
However, most people had put down their toolbelt by the time they reached retirement age.
“The cut and thrust is, it’s too physical.”
Tauranga Chamber of Commerce interim chief executive Toni Palmer said age was not what defined an employee but more how they worked within an environment and what they brought to the workplace.
Employers did not necessarily see people over 50 as less employable, as they would look at those employees for the skills they had, she said.
“And as skills are becoming more difficult to get, then the age of the employee becomes less relevant, at either end of the age scale.”
Employees now moved more frequently to build a career and gain knowledge, she said.
No downing of tools for plumber
Tauranga plumber John Harper has no intention of retiring any time soon.
The 59-year-old said he would definitely work to 65 or possibly longer as his job was keeping him active.
“I am enjoying what I am doing and I don’t think that reaching 65 would change that much.”
His job could be physically demanding but he was up for the challenge.
“We are always moving around; sometimes you’ll be climbing or crawling on your knees and on your back or digging so you are quite mobile.”
But that was good for working up a sweat and getting the heart rate up, he said.
Employment
New Zealand recorded the second highest employment rate of people aged 55-64 among OECD countries in 2012 and 2013 and third highest of people aged 65-69 in 2012.
As at June 2014, 22 per cent of workers in New Zealand were aged 55 or over.
Government predicts this will rise to 25 per cent by 2020, with many likely to remain working beyond 65.
The proportion of the labour force aged 65 or over (currently 5 per cent) is expected to increase to 13 per cent by 2036.
Workplace injuries are set to rise as a result of the expected increase in the number of people working past the age of 65, raising concern about cuts to workers’ compensation schemes around the country and pressure on welfare services, lawyers warn.
The Australian Lawyers Alliance said the federal government’s intergenerational report predicted the proportion of workers older than 65 will grow from 12.9 per cent to 17.3 per cent by 2051. The former Labor government raised the retirement age from 65 to 67 by 2023 and federal Treasurer Joe Hockey has said Generation X Australians might have to keep working until they are 70.
ALA national president Andrew Stone said cuts in benefits to injured workers through state-based workers’ compensation schemes around the country, particularly in NSW, could have long-term consequences for a rapidly ageing workforce.
“If the government expects people to work longer, where does it expect that these people will receive support if they are injured?” Mr Stone said.
“An ageing worker is more likely to suffer a non-serious workplace injury and fall into a lower category of coverage, potentially receiving less support or even being denied workers’ compensation medical and income benefits.
“This is particularly the case in heavy industries, where it will be physically difficult for people to work longer, as well as in less physically demanding workplaces.”
The increased risk meant a long-term vision was needed to support injured workers, Mr Stone said.
The introduction of a no-fault National Injury Insurance Scheme meant state-based workers compensation schemes were being reviewed, he said.
“Eligibility criteria for the [National Disability Insurance Scheme] and [National Injury Insurance Scheme] will likely mean that people injured at work would be unable to access these schemes for support to a significant degree.
“If these people are also denied access to workers’ compensation, it will mean that their only means of support could be under the Disability Support Pension, Centrelink or Medicare. This has already been seen in NSW.
“It is important that governments resist such pressures to raise thresholds, reduce caps and remove lump-sum commutations as a short-term fix.”
The intergenerational report suggested the proportion of taxpayers was declining as part of the ageing population, he said. By 2055, the number of people aged between 15 to 64 would be only 2.7 times greater than the number aged 65, compared to 4.5 times greater today.
“The choices that state and territory governments make now about how they fund the NIIS could have resounding impacts when considering a long-term vision for how we care for older Australians in decades to come.
“If states take the easy option and simply raise damage thresholds now to pay for no-fault catastrophic insurance, the damage will be extensive.”
A spokeswoman for WorkCover said the system was designed to be fair and affordable and to assist injured workers to return to work. She said WorkCover was looking at the demographic trends and workplace impacts of an ageing workforce.
People injured after they reach retirement age are currently entitled to weekly payments for 12 months after an injury that leaves unable to work.
Seriously injured workers with more than 30 per cent whole person permanent impairment receive medical treatment rehabilitation and support benefits related to their injury for life.
“The workers’ compensation scheme’s chief purpose is to support injured workers to return to work by encouraging employers to make alternative duties or changes in duties to help their recovery in the workplace. This approach is more important for older workers, as their place of employment is often their key social and community outlet,” the spokeswoman said.
Older warehouse workers are being stood down without pay at Linfox sites across Melbourne, fanning fears the transport giant is forcing out permanent staff in favour of “churn-and-burn” casuals.
John Russell has been laid off by his employer Linfox on returning to work after a back injury with 37 years on the job. Photo: Simon Schluter
John Russell looked over the letter from his boss again, staggered by the news.
The forklift driver had taken time off work with a shoulder injury but his doctor had cleared him as fit to return. He assumed his job of 37 years would be safe. He was wrong.
The letter from transport giant Linfox said the 65-year-old was now stood down without pay after an assessment by company doctors. It said he was deemed unable to perform “inherent requirements” of the job, specifically, using a hand-held scanning device.
Older workers like Mr Russell are being stood down from Linfox warehouses across Melbourne, according to their union, which has accused the company of phasing out permanent staff in favour of “churn-and-burn” casuals from labour-hire companies.
Organisers say up to 100 older or unfit workers have been targeted at a single distribution centre in Truganina over the past 12 months, under a “blanket policy” to wipe out those unable perform every aspect of warehouse work.
The figure is not disputed by Linfox, which said the stand-downs were the result of productivity-boosting initiatives introduced last July at the distribution centre that Linfox operates for Coles.
Mr Russell spent most of his working life employed by Linfox, Australia’s largest private logistics company. But he is now in limbo – jobless without being officially terminated, and unable to claim the pension.
“I felt terrible, actually,” he said.
“Linfox has hundreds of sites around Melbourne and there must be jobs out there with lighter duties if that’s what they want … but they are replacing the older people with younger casuals [who] they can work as hard as possible. It shows a lack of loyalty and disrespect.”
National Union of Workers organiser Matt Toner said the company had instituted a blanket policy of targeting workers it considered “liabilities”.
“Within a warehouse there are different jobs done by people who are a bit older and have been with the company a long time, like fork-work, lane-marshalling and clerical,” he said.
“But new management now says that unless you are doing everything here, we don’t want you here.”
Mr Toner said workers planned to step up industrial pressure on Linfox management to stop older staff being “thrown on the scrap heap”.
A Linfox spokeswoman said the new processes at Truganina were communicated to company employees and were not in violation of workplace law.
“To date, the Fair Work Commission has not indicated that Linfox is in breach of the relevant provisions arising from the national enterprise agreement or with respect to specific general protections arising from the Fair Work Act,” she said.
The company had also engaged an workplace expert to draw up “reasonable expectancies” for orders to be completed and ready for distribution, she said.
Industrial tension between the union and Linfox appear to escalating after the company recently filed a submission to a sweeping review of the Australian industrial relations system. Linfox alleges shift workers were harassed by union recruiters at the site in 2013 and has made fresh calls for restrictions on organisers entering workplaces.
The union strongly denies the claims, and said it was disappointed by the company’s decision to air allegations dating back two years. Linfox’s submission includes extracts of 10 written complaints by workers employed that year and said existing right-of-entry laws lacked balance.
Tony Abbott says shorter roles offer a ‘stepping stone into secure long-term jobs’ but Labor says it is simply the revival of a failed Howard-era policy and will increase jobseeker churn
Corangamite MP Sarah Henderson with Eric Abetz, Tony Abbott and the assistant employment minister Luke Hartsuyker launching jobactive on Tuesday. Photograph: Karen Sweeny/AAP
Employment service providers will be offered cash incentives to place jobseekers in short-term positions as well as longer term ones under changes announced by the federal government on Tuesday.
The new “jobactive” system will offer service providers a payment for filling four week-long vacancies, as well vacancies lasting 12 or 26 weeks.
“In the past we have only paid on 12 and 26-week outcomes,” the prime minister,Tony Abbott, told reporters in Geelong.
“We know there are a lot of short-term jobs available, particularly in regional Australia, there are jobs that are seasonal and these are often the start of someone’s renewed connection with the labour market. That is why an important innovation in this new jobactive system is the four-week outcome payment.”
Abbott said short-term work was “the best possible stepping stone into secure long-term jobs”.
“The best preparation for work is work,” the prime minister said.
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) said the policy would “encourage service providers to churn vulnerable jobseekers through multiple short term job contracts in order to claim multiple payments”, ACTU secretary Dave Oliver said.
“The ACTU has consistently advocated for the government to introduce a 52 week payment to incentivise service providers to place jobseekers into long-term work. This would be a much better alternative to a four week payment.”
The initiative, which comes off the back of the Howard-era Job Network policy, has been panned by Labor.
“The government’s return to the failed Job Network model, with a new name, will not help unemployed Australians into work,” shadow employment minister Brendan O’Connor told Guardian Australia.
“We are not convinced the introduction of a new four week payment will do anything to support job seekers into decent work. Instead it will lead to increased jobseeker churn and job insecurity.”
O’Connor said that the Coalition must not take resources away from jobs training.
“Labor is deeply concerned that the new employment services model will in fact leave job seekers without the support they need,” he said.
Under the jobactivescheme, money for training will be provided only if jobseekers need it to secure a position that has already been advertised. Job agencies will have to risk their own money to provide individuals with training they think will be needed to gain employment more broadly.
David Thompson from the peak organisation representing non-profit employment services, Jobs Australia, welcomed the jobactive scheme, but warned that the training element “might be too restrictive”.
He said many long-term unemployed people needed training to reorient themselves to workplaces before applying for specific jobs, and that training could help jobseekers whose industries were suffering job losses.
“The labour market of today and the labour market of tomorrow are very different,” Thompson said.
The employment minister, Eric Abetz, said unemployed people who took on short-term contracts or undertook work for dole programs were healthier.
“All the data tells us that if you are gainfully employed, your mental, physical health, yourself esteem and social interaction are all enhanced and not only for you as an individual but everybody else in your household.
“That is why, for the long term unemployed, to be engaged in work for the dole, for example, is not only an important mechanism to say thank you to your community, but it is also of untold social good to the individual,” he said.
A total of 66 job agencies have been offered contracts to deliver on the jobactive scheme, from the 184 that put in tenders. Their contracts will last for five years rather than three, a move the government said will provide certainty for service providers.
The new scheme begins on July 1 and also includes targeted programs for Indigenous jobseekers based on the work undertaken by mining magnate Andrew Twiggy Forrest, who has conducted a review into Indigenous jobs and training.
“He has been a real apostle of getting away from this training for training’s sake notion and ensuring that people are being prepared, not for training but for work,” Abbott said of Forrest.
The government will implement job targets for Indigenous jobseekers for the first time under the new initiative. The targets will vary from region to region.
“The targets will ensure that employment service providers are finding jobs for Indigenous jobseekers at the same rate as for other job seekers in a region,” a spokesman for the Indigenous affairs minister, Nigel Scullion, told Guardian Australia.
“Providers will also be held accountable for their performance in meeting these targets through the star ratings system. A poor performance will affect an organisation’s star ratings and this will have an impact on whether they are given any future business from the government.”
Phillips as she appears on our television screens, with her hair dyed blonde. Photo: Damian Bennett
Here’s how I really look. Or at least how I would look, if I was brave enough. It’s how I’d look if I felt able to age naturally, without fear of risking my livelihood.
On air, my hair is the same colour it was 25 years ago, when I first started reading the news. The difference is that these days it takes two hours and several bottles of chemicals, once a month, to get me there.
The truth is, I’m a 51-year-old woman and I have grey hair. Not a glamorous silver streak. Completely grey. Grandma grey. “Have you ever thought about just going grey?” the hairdresser asked. “It’d save a lot of time.” An innocent question, but the very thought was terrifying.
Juanita Phillips, digitally altered (with her permission) to show her hair in its natural, grey state. Photo: Damian Bennett
I’ve been hiding my grey hair since my early 20s, when it first appeared. I remember feeling panicked. Perhaps it’s the equivalent of men going bald. Thick, glossy hair represents youth and vitality. Grey hair or no hair means one thing: old age.
When I started in TV, it was my dirty little secret which only the hairdressers knew. “Colour me younger!” I’d say as I sank into the make-up chair to get my roots done. By the time I was 40, they were telling me I was 60 per cent grey. After that, I stopped asking.
A few years ago, tired of the pretence, I decided to go silver at the front. Nobody seemed to notice. But after a few months, my hairdresser begged me to get rid of it. “It’s so ageing,” he said. “And I’m worried you might lose your job!”
It goes without saying that getting older holds no such perils for men on TV. Grey hair, bald patches, wrinkles, glasses. They can even get away with a paunch. If anything, ageing enhances a man’s gravitas. Brian Henderson was still reading the news at 71. The late Ian Ross was 68. The ABC’s own Ian Henderson is 61. But how many grey-haired women with glasses present prime-time nightly news in Australia?
Prime-time television news seems populated almost entirely by two groups: thin, gorgeous young women (nearly all blonde), and men of all shapes and ages. There’s a handful of older women – those in their 40s and 50s – but they don’t look their age and, with the notable exception of Lee Lin Chin, they don’t have grey hair. And women on Australian TV in their 60s and 70s? Apart from Caroline Jones on Australian Story, virtually non-existent. It’s like an entire generation has been vaporised.
Here’s what really happened to them: they hit menopause and they stopped looking like babes. It wasn’t that long ago that Mary Kostakidis was pushed aside for a younger man as SBS World News presenter, and it’s been less than a decade since some long-gone dinosaur coined the vile term “f…ability” in assessing the appeal of female presenters.
But on the positive side, things are changing. That blokey culture is way past its use-by date, and well on the way to being “boned”. In its place, you have TV executives like ABC news director Kate Torney, a strong advocate of gender equality in broadcasting.
There are more women aged over 50 in high-profile news roles than ever before. Lisa Wilkinson, Liz Hayes, Tracy Grimshaw, Sandra Sully, Kay McGrath, Helen Dalley, Geraldine Doogue and Ann Sanders are among the first generation of women to survive this long in TV. They’re strong, confident women who’ve had lifetime careers; not the kind of women who’ll obediently fade away when the boss decides he’d prefer someone younger and prettier.
The big test will be when this current crop moves into their 60s and 70s. That’s when it’ll get interesting because the real issue for TV women is not so much getting old. It’s looking old.
So back to the question of whether I’d go on air with grey hair. I’ve been hiding it for 30 years. That’s some 700 hours of my life baking my head in a poultice of chemicals. Oh for the sweet relief of not having to worry about it!
But I’m a 51-year-old woman in TV. I know the score. Grey’s fine with me, and I’d like to think the audience could cope with it. But the TV industry? I wouldn’t bet my career on it. Not just yet.
