Your Career Runway Is Long: Women Over 50 Prove It
Forbes and Know Your Value release their fourth annual list of women over 50 making significant impact
On Thursday, Forbes and Know Your Value released their fourth annual list of women over 50 who have rejected the conventional wisdom that their best years are behind them.
The women on this year’s list come from dozens of industries, including biotech, education, retail, architecture and beyond. The honorees achieved their greatest accomplishments and are making their biggest impact after the age of 50.
“From filmmaker Ava DuVernay at 51, to former presidential advisor Valerie Jarrett at 67, to Michele Kang, a 65-year-old businesswoman and sports team owner, to actress June Squibb at 94 years young, this year’s list may be our most impressive yet,” said Know Your Value founder and “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski.
Whittling down the honorees was a months-long process. Forbes and Know Your Value vetted thousands of nominees. Semifinalists were then reviewed by expert judges – a panel of alumnae that included entrepreneurs Suze Orman and Laura Geller, venture capitalist Theresia Gouw, and AnitaB.org president Brenda Darden Wilkerson – followed by more debate and research.
The list is broken up into four categories: Impact, Investment, Innovation and Lifestyle, with 50 women on each list.
Entrepreneurship was a major theme this year, noted Maggie McGrath, editor of ForbesWomen.
“We have 75 or so women who have either founded or own their company who are on this year’s list. And a lot of them got them the entrepreneurial bug over the age of 50.”
That includes 57-year-old Diana Levy, a stay-at-home mom for over 20 years, who founded Undercover Snacks after two of her daughters were diagnosed with Celiac disease. It’s now sold in 25,000 stores across the U.S. and on United Airlines flights.
A number of women in politics and policy also made the list. That includes Jarrett, who at 52 years old became advisor to then-President Obama in 2009. She became the longest senior advisor to a president in history. And in October 2020, at the age of 63, Jarrett accepted a new job from Obama as director of the Obama Foundation. The following year, she became CEO.
“She is just an extraordinary humanitarian leader and activist,” said Huma Abedin, an MSNBC contributor and vice-chair of Forbes and Know Your Value’s 30/50 summit.
Other notable listmakers included:
- Dawn Staley, 54, Head Coach, University of South Carolina Women’s Basketball
- Miriam Rivera, 60, Cofounder, CEO, Ulu Ventures
- Peggy Johnson, 62, CEO, Agility Robotics
- Brooke Shields, 59, Actress, Founder, CEO, Commence
- Cecile Richards, 67, Cofounder, Charley
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus, 63, Actor; Host, Wiser Than Me Podcast
- Anna Wintour, 74, Global Chief Content Officer, Conde Nast; Editor-in-Chief, Vogue
- Danielle Steel, 76, Author
- Patti Smith, 77, Author, Artist
- Val Ackerman, 64, Commissioner, Big East Conference
- Akiko Iwasaki, 53, Professor of Immunobiology and Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Yale University; Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
- Marlena Fejzo, 56, scientist, University of Southern California; Chief Scientific Officer, Harmonia Health
- LaTosha Brown, 53, Cofounder, Black Voters Matter
Brzezinski said one of the biggest lessons young women can learn from this year’s honorees is that they have time to figure out what they want to do in life.
“Living longer, living better and having success later in life, it’s the long runway,” said Brzezinski. So younger women can calm down, take a couple of detours in life, do some different things. It is OK. there’s not rush anymore.”
Check out the full list here.
