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byline: Kate Andrews

$681M subsea cable plant coming to Chesapeake

A U.S. subsidiary of a South Korean cable manufacturer plans to build a $681 million subsea cable manufacturing plant in Chesapeake, the company announced Tuesday. The project is expected to create 338 jobs.

LS GreenLink USA’s Chesapeake subsea cable factory will be built at the Deep Water Terminal Site in Chesapeake, a 96-acre property located near the Port of Virginia and adjacent to the southern branch of the Elizabeth River. The plant will be approximately 750,000 square feet and will produce high-voltage, direct-current submarine cables used for offshore wind farms — the first such facility in the United States.

“LS GreenLink’s investment in Virginia will showcase the commonwealth as a leader in offshore wind industry manufacturing,” Youngkin said in a statement. “LS GreenLink has recognized that Virginia has the skilled talent, world-class logistics location and business environment that will allow it to serve its growing global customers for submarine power cables.”

A subsidiary of Anyang, South Korea-based LS Cable & System, LS GreenLink USA was awarded $99 million in advanced energy project tax credits by the U.S. Department of Energy in April, and Gov. Glenn Youngkin approved a $13.2 million grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist the City of Chesapeake with the project.

To secure the project, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Chesapeake, the Hampton Roads Alliance and the Virginia Maritime Association. In addition to the state’s $13.2 million grant and federal funding, LS GreenLink is eligible to receive state benefits from the Port of Virginia Economic and Infrastructure Development Zone grant program, and the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program will support job training for the company at no charge.

“This state-of-the-art facility represents our commitment to pushing the boundaries of technology and engineering,” said Bon-Kyu Koo, president and CEO of LS Cable & System. “This facility will not only enhance our capability to meet the growing global demands for submarine power cables, but will also position us at the forefront of the industry.”

Subsea telecommunications cables have become a burgeoning industry in Hampton Roads. Virginia Beach is one of a few East Coast landing spots for subsea high-speed internet transmission cables, with a data center and cable landing station where subsea telecommunications cables MAREA, BRUSA and DUNANT connect Virginia to points in Europe and South America.

The announcement comes as Dominion Energy has begun installing monopiles — wind turbine foundation posts — 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach to construct its $9.8 billion, 176-turbine Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project, which is anticipated to be finished by the end of 2026. On Monday, Dominion announced its plans to buy a 40,000-acre lease off North Carolina’s Outer Banks for $160 million from Avangrid, a sustainable energy company.

Residents of Sandbridge, a beach community south of Virginia Beach, have opposed Avangrid’s plan to bring transmission cables ashore there, and the process has been delayed.

Simmons Equipment announces $8.5M expansion into Russell County

Simmons Equipment, a specialty mining equipment manufacturer based in Tazewell County, plans to expand into neighboring Russell County, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Monday.

The company expects to invest $8.5 million into converting two buildings in Lebanon, an investment set to create 75 jobs, the governor’s office said. Founded in Tazewell in 2005, Simmons produces soft rock mining equipment, including scoops, haulers and longwall support vehicles. According to the news release, the expansion will allow the company to grow its product line. The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Russell County and the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority to secure the project, which Virginia competed with Tennessee and West Virginia to land.

Simmons plans to also retain its Tazewell facilities, the governor’s announcement said. Youngkin approved a $270,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund for Russell County, and VCEDA approved a $187,500 to the company for workforce development and a $500,000 loan to the county’s industrial development authority for facility improvements. Simmons is also eligible to receive incentives from the Major Business Facility Job Tax Credit for full-time jobs created.

The new locations in Lebanon will be at 219 Joe Gillespie Drive, the former Polycap facility, and 200 Haber Drive, and the company plans to move in phases over the next two quarters of the year, a spokesman said. Simmons currently employs 107 people in Tazewell.

“We are thrilled to be expanding our operations into Russell County,” President and CEO Matt Simmons said in a statement. “Our business has been growing into new markets worldwide, and this additional manufacturing capacity will allow us to aggressively pursue those opportunities. After an extensive search, we are excited to continue our growth here in Southwest Virginia. We were highly impressed with the efforts of the Russell County Industrial Development Authority, the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority and the Commonwealth of Virginia to support us in this exciting endeavor. We look forward to being part of the growing business community in Russell County.”

Jefferson Lab names next director

The Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility has named a new director, Kim Sawyer, who will replace Stuart Henderson, the lab’s director since 2017.  Sawyer will start her new post at the Newport News facility Aug. 2, according to a Jefferson Science Associates news release Monday.

Having previously served as deputy laboratory director and chief operating officer at Argonne National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories, Sawyer worked for Lockheed Martin before joining the U.S. Department of Energy.  She holds a master’s degree in mathematics and computing from the University of Massachusetts Lowell and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Robert Morris University.

The Jefferson Lab is in the midst of some significant projects. In October 2023, the DOE announced that the laboratory will lead a $300 million to $500 million data science computing hub, the High Performance Data Facility hub, that will make scientific data more accessible nationwide. The project will include the building of a data center that is expected to be operational by fiscal 2028. Also, researchers at the lab are working on a project to eliminate harmful chemicals — known as “forever chemicals” — in drinking water over the next two years.

Sawyer will succeed Stuart Henderson, who recently announced he will step down as lab director. An accelerator physicist, he was instrumental in developing the Electron-Ion Collider and the HPDF hub, among other projects.

“We are pleased that Kim has been selected to lead Jefferson Lab,” said Sean J. Hearne, president and CEO of Southeastern Universities Research Association and chairman of the JSA Board of Directors. “Kim is a respected professional who has achieved success driving cultural change and building strong relationships with stakeholders. Kim delivers results, and we are confident her leadership and technical acumen will guide the lab as it begins its evolution to a multi-program laboratory.”

Briggman leaving post as CEO of Activation Capital

Chandra Briggman is leaving her position as president and CEO of Activation Capital, the Richmond tech incubator announced Monday. Her last day is Friday.

Briggman joined Activation Capital, an accelerator arm of the Virginia Biotechnology Research Partnership Authority, in May 2020; the organization includes a biotech park, startup development and cluster accelerator for pharmaceutical research and manufacturing. During her time at Activation Capital, Briggman played significant roles in raising $31 million to build an innovation center in the Virginia Bio+Tech Park, launching the Alliance for Building Better Medicine, and winning a $53 million federal grant in the Build Back Better Regional Challenge, among other achievements.

According to Monday’s announcement, Briggman plans to “pursue new opportunities to build innovation ecosystems and drive economic development,” but her specific plans were not disclosed.

“At heart, I’m a builder, and what I do well, I have done,” Briggman said in a statement. “The opportunity to contribute to Activation Capital and the Central Virginia community has been a highlight of my career. It gave me an opportunity to sharpen the organization’s strategy, secure the growth capital necessary to flourish and align every action with a mission-centric outcome. Together, we built a team of experts who are focused on execution and excellence during the next phase of Activation Capital. My goal was always to create the team, prove our model and then transition to the next opportunity to build.”

The organization plans to launch a search for Briggman’s replacement, but in the meantime, Kipton Currier, vice president of operations, will lead day-to-day operations, and Activation Capital’s executive team will oversee key initiatives, a spokesperson said.

“Chandra Briggman’s pivotal time at Activation Capital has been defined by impact, and her impressive body of work has energized our region,” said Virginia Commonwealth University President Michael Rao, also chairman of the Virginia Biotechnology Research Partnership Authority Board. “In 2020, Chandra was recruited from Boston/Cambridge, Massachusetts, to grow the economic impact of Activation Capital. In four years, two of which were at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, she helped reenergize the organization with a new vision and strategy. Chandra executed a bold roadmap that has since grown our regional innovation economy and strengthened Activation Capital’s sustainability model for the future.”

Navy Region Mid-Atlantic changes command

After serving as commander of the Navy Region Mid-Atlantic for a little over a year, Navy Rear Adm. Wesley “Wes” McCall finished his duties Wednesday and has been succeeded by Rear Adm. Carl A. Lahti.

As of Wednesday, Lahti now oversees 13 installations from Illinois to North Carolina and is stationed at the world’s largest Navy base, Naval Station Norfolk. According to a Navy spokesperson, McCall is retiring. He became the region’s commander in May 2023, after Vice Adm. Scott Gray received a promotion to lead the Navy Installations Command in Washington, D.C., last year. Gray was on hand during Wednesday’s ceremony at the Norfolk naval station.

A Buffalo, New York native, Lahti previously commanded the Naval Submarine Base New London in Connecticut, and he most recently was commander of the U.S. Naval Forces Japan/Navy Region Japan since 2021. He also was chief of staff at the Navy Installations Command, director of the Energy and Environmental Readiness Division and commandant of Naval District Washington, D.C.

Lahti is a 1989 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, where he received a bachelor’s degree in systems engineering, and also has degrees from the Naval Postgraduate School and the Naval War College. In 2005 and 2006, he served as an associate fellow with the chief of naval operations, where he studied alternative energy strategies for the Navy.

Mars acquires two veterinary diagnostics businesses

Mars has completed its acquisition of two veterinary diagnostics businesses based in France, the McLean-headquartered candy and pet care corporation announced Tuesday.

Mars purchased Cerba HealthCare’s ownership stake in Cerba Vet, a network of six veterinary diagnostics laboratories in France, and Antagene, which provides DNA testing for dogs, cats, horses and wildlife, as well as diagnostic tests to confirm diseases in pets. The two companies are now part of Mars Petcare’s Science & Diagnostics division, according to Tuesday’s announcement. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The largest privately held company in Virginia, Mars is best known for candy brands like M&Ms, Snickers and 3 Musketeers produced through its Mars Snacking division. But the company has said that Mars Petcare accounted for about 60% of the company’s $50 billion in 2023 revenue.

Mars’ interest in Cerba’s divisions was announced in May. Cerba Vet and Antagene join Mars’ other veterinary businesses, Antech, a worldwide veterinary diagnostics business, and Wisdom Panel, a genetic testing business for dogs and cats.

Mars has expanded its holdings over the past year. In November 2023, Mars subsidiary Bidco announced its planned purchase of Hotel Chocolat for $662 million, a deal closed earlier this year.

Boeing to purchase Spirit AeroSystems in $4.7B+ deal

Beleaguered aerospace and defense giant Boeing announced Monday it has entered an agreement to reacquire Boeing spinoff company Spirit Aerosystems in a $4.7 billion, all-stock transaction. The Fortune 500 company headquartered in Arlington County will also assume Spirit’s net debt, so the deal’s total value is approximately $8.3 billion, Boeing said in its announcement.

Spirit supplied the fuselage in the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 plane that experienced a midair blowout of a 4-foot wall panel in January, and as a result, the Federal Aviation Administration has increased oversight over both companies.

“We believe this deal is in the best interest of the flying public, our airline customers, the employees of Spirit and Boeing, our shareholders and the country more broadly,” Boeing President and CEO Dave Calhoun said in a statement. “By reintegrating Spirit, we can fully align our commercial production systems, including our Safety and Quality Management Systems, and our workforce to the same priorities, incentives and outcomes – centered on safety and quality.”

Spirit — with locations in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas — spun off from Boeing in 2005, and remained closely aligned with its former parent company, although Spirit has made fuselage for Boeing competitor Airbus too in recent years. Monday’s transaction is expected to close in mid-2025, upon the sale of Spirit’s operations related to Airbus contracts, Boeing said. Spirit plans to sell its operations in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Malaysia.

Monday’s announcement comes just before the Justice Department’s Saturday deadline to decide whether to file criminal charges against Boeing for violating a 2021 agreement following crashes of two 737 Max planes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people. According to Reuters, federal prosecutors met with Boeing representatives and relatives of crash victims ahead of the deadline.

The all-stock transaction is valued at $37.25 per share, and each share of Spirit common stock will be exchanged for a number of Boeing common stock shares equal to an exchange ratio between 0.18 and 0.25, according to Boeing.

Following the Jan. 6 door plug blowout, Boeing has suffered financially — with no orders for the 737 Max airplane in April and May, and only four new orders for planes in May. Calhoun, who joined Boeing as its CEO in 2020, announced in March he would step down at the end of the year, part of an overall management shakeup in the wake of the Alaska Airlines incident.

Youngkin peppers university boards with GOP power players

With Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s appointees slated to hold majorities on the state’s university boards beginning July 1, the governor announced dozens of last-minute university board appointments Friday afternoon, shortly before the members’ four-year terms take effect Monday. Although many of the new appointees are the usual mix of Virginia business leaders and former state legislators, Youngkin also tapped some conservative political movers and shakers with national profiles — people who will likely shape the political direction of those university boards.

Among these newcomers are former Army Secretary Ryan D. McCarthy, who came under scrutiny for his role in readying National Guard troops to respond to the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021; Marc Short, a former chief of staff for then-Vice President Mike Pence whose 2018 appointment to the Miller Center at the University of Virginia caused controversy and resignations; one former clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas; and a former law clerk for Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. and Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Named by the governor to four-year terms that can be renewed, members of state university and college boards of visitors have the power under state law to hire and fire school presidents and set institutions’ annual tuition and fees. The state legislature can block confirmation of board appointees, but do so rarely. University of Virginia Board of Visitors member Bert Ellis, an Atlanta businessman who has been outspoken about his conservative political beliefs, narrowly survived an attempt to keep him off the board in 2023.

Youngkin’s office released the board appointments Friday afternoon just a couple hours before the governor appeared at a campaign rally for former President Donald Trump in Chesapeake.

In addition to being bosses over the state universities’ presidents, board of visitors members also can wield significant power over other aspects of universities, especially when its members are politically aligned. U.Va.’s board of visitors this spring found itself at the center of political disputes over pro-Palestine protests on campus, and Virginia Military Institute’s board has been caught up in controversies dividing VMI alumni and current students over the military school’s diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

At George Mason University, two board members were given leadership roles in a group overseeing curriculum — a power highlighted in the Virginia Mercury’s March report about Youngkin’s request that Mason and Virginia Commonwealth University provide syllabi for courses about diversity, equity, inclusion and race to Virginia Education Secretary Aimee Rogstad Guidera for review. Faculty members at both universities expressed concern about academic freedom being curtailed by the Youngkin administration, with some viewing it as a continuation of the governor’s declaration that educational content regarding race was “inherently divisive” in an executive order covering K-12 public schools. Ultimately, VCU’s board of visitors and George Mason’s administration eliminated requirements for students to take classes focusing on DEI, race or racism this fall. A Youngkin spokesperson told Inside Higher Ed that the governor had received complaints from parents and students that the courses represented “a thinly veiled attempt to incorporate the progressive left’s groupthink on Virginia’s students.”

Here’s a look at some of the new members of Virginia universities’ boards of visitors:

George Mason University

  • Kenneth L. Marcus, a former U.S. assistant secretary of education for civil rights under President Trump and former staff director of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights under President George W. Bush. Marcus, who lives in Falls Church and founded the Brandeis Center, was characterized by a former Brandeis Center board member in a New York Times story in March as “the single most effective and respected force when it comes to both litigation and the utilization of the civil rights statutes” to oppose antisemitism — a hot-button issue on many campuses, including here in Virginia.
  • Nina S. Rees, a senior fellow of the George W. Bush Institute, is the former CEO and president of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, the largest charter school advocacy organization in the country.
  • Marc Short, a Virginia Beach native, served as Vice President Pence’s chief of staff from March 2019 until the end of Pence’s term in January 2021, and previously served as Trump’s White House director of legislative affairs. A graduate of Washington & Lee University and U.Va., Short worked for Oliver North’s unsuccessful 1994 Senate campaign in Virginia and was a political consultant for U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio’s and Pence’s 2016 presidential campaigns.

University of Virginia

  • Porter Wilkinson, a counselor and chief of staff to the Smithsonian Institute Board of Regents, is a former law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts and Associate Justice Kavanaugh, when he was serving as a U.S. Court of Appeals judge. Notably, Wilkinson was reportedly the only person Kavanaugh shared his U.S. Senate testimony with before his emotional Supreme Court hearings in 2018, when he was questioned about his alleged behavior regarding Christine Blasey Ford when both were students at Georgetown Prep in the 1980s. Ford accused Kavanaugh of pinning her to a bed and trying to rip off her clothes during a party. Kavanaugh, in response, vehemently claimed innocence and denied assaulting Ford.

Virginia Tech 

  • Ryan D. McCarthy, former secretary of the Army under President Trump, is a VMI alum who was an Army Ranger during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. Before being named by Trump as under secretary of the Army in 2017, McCarthy worked as special assistant to Robert Gates, the U.S. secretary of defense under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. In May, The New York Times reported that a miscommunication between then Defense Sec. Christopher Miller and McCarthy led to different understandings of how quickly McCarthy would deploy the National Guard on Jan. 6, 2021.

Virginia Military Institute 

  • Kate Comerford Todd, a partner at Torridon Law, was a deputy counsel to President Trump and advised him on judicial selections, as well as previously serving as associate counsel to President George W. Bush. A Harvard Law graduate, Todd was also a law clerk for Supreme Court Associate Justice Thomas. She was appointed by Youngkin to VMI’s board in October 2023, filling the vacancy left by the late retired Lt. Gen. Charles Dominy.

 

2024 Virginia Women in Leadership Awards: Leading Ladies

For the fourth annual Women in Leadership Awards, Virginia Business hosted a photo shoot at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, where eight of this year’s winners struck poses for Richmond photographer James Lee.

Given the surroundings, Lee took inspiration from the museum’s collection and other artwork in staging the photos. The results display a different side of these powerful and accomplished leaders.

Over the past four years, Virginia Business has introduced readers to many outstanding executives through the Women in Leadership Awards, including 2024’s impressive cohort of 38 women, chosen from a pool of more than 250 nominees.

All winners work in Virginia and hold C-suite or equivalent positions. They also have demonstrated extraordinary professional achievements, including breaking glass ceilings, mentoring others, engaging in civic work and bringing their leadership skills to nonprofit and company boards.

Most also have been willing to take risks in their careers. It takes guts, after all, to be a woman leader. Women still run just 10.4% of Fortune 500 companies, and, astoundingly, 2023 was the first year that there were more women CEOs of S&P 500 companies than S&P CEOs named John.

In the pages ahead, you’ll read about the fascinating journeys that this year’s cohort of Virginia executives took to leadership and success. Please join us in congratulating the 2024 winners of the Virginia Business Women in Leadership Awards!

LARGE EMPLOYER

YVONNE ALLMOND
Executive vice president and community financial engagement officer, TowneBank, Norfolk

MELODY BARNES
Executive director, University of Virginia Karsh Institute of Democracy, Charlottesville

JUDY BARRETT
Senior vice president, private banking, TowneBank, Norfolk

SAGE BOLTE
President and chief philanthropy officer, Inova Health Foundation, Fairfax

CAPRICE BRAGG
Chief strategy officer and deputy director for strategic planning, government and board relations, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond

ERICA CARTER
Regional leader and principal, Kimley-Horn, Reston

RUTH ANN CLARK
Managing director, mid-Atlantic region and aerospace, defense and government services industry manager, JPMorgan Chase, McLean

PAT DAVIS-HAGENS
Market president, Bon Secours Mercy Health Hampton Roads, Suffolk

MELODY DICKERSON
Senior vice president for hospital operations and chief nursing officer, VHC Health, Arlington County

MELISSA FRYE
Senior program director, General Dynamics Information Technology, Reston

CANDICE LING
Federal sector leader, Microsoft Federal, Arlington County

LYN McDERMID
Secretary of administration, Commonwealth of Virginia, Richmond

PAULA PANDO
President, Reynolds Community College, Richmond

FRAN RANDALL
Partner, Richmond market leader and national tax practice leader for international tax services, Forvis Mazars, Richmond

MONICA SCHMUDE
Virginia president, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Richmond

AMY SEBRING
Executive vice president and chief operating officer, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg 

SARAH STRASSHEIM
Chief financial officer, data and technology, Dentsu, Keswick

NICOLE STUART
President, Top Guard Security, Norfolk

DANA WESTON GRAVES
President, Sentara Princess Anne Hospital, Virginia Beach

MIDSIZE EMPLOYER

TIFFANY FRANKS
President, Averett University, Danville

CONNIE NYHOLM
Owner and CEO, Virginia International Raceway, Alton

LINDA RABBITT
Founder and executive chairman, Rand Construction, Alexandria

JACQUELINE ROGERS
Chief communications and operating officer, Capital Square, Glen Allen 

MARGARET SHAIA
CEO, Acoustical Sheetmetal Co. (ASC), Virginia Beach 

LAKSHMI WILLIAMS
General counsel, corporate secretary, Transurban North America, Tysons

SMALL EMPLOYER

SHAZA ANDERSEN
CEO, Trustar Bank, Great Falls

ALISON BANZIGER
Founder and CEO, xScion, McLean

KRISTIN BAUM
Principal and board chairman, GuernseyTingle, Williamsburg

JULIE COONS
President and CEO, Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce, Tysons

LYNNE HUGHES
Founder and CEO, Comfort Zone Camp, Richmond

ELIZABETH ANN McCLANAHAN
CEO, Virginia Tech Foundation, Blacksburg

CARRIE McCONNELL
President, Ridge View Bank, Roanoke

KATHERINE O’DONNELL
President and CEO, Richmond Region Tourism, Richmond

DALAL SALOMON
CEO/founding partner, Salomon & Ludwin, Richmond 

RONDA SCHRENK
CEO, U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation, Herndon

KIM SNYDER
CEO and founder, KlariVis, Roanoke

JILL VOGEL
Managing partner, Holtzman Vogel Baran Torchinsky and Josefiak, Haymarket

JENNIFER WEST
Shareholder and president, Spotts Fain, Richmond

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Beauty and the C-suite

Virginia Business’ July issue cover art represents a significant amount of time and thoughtful planning — especially in considering what image we want to convey to you, the reader.

From our viewpoint, the Women in Leadership cover should express strength and confidence — attributes that this year’s 38 award winners demonstrate daily as executives. A still photograph, of course, must achieve this without words, so we have to consider facial expressions, body language and wardrobe.

Work should be different, though, because in our jobs we should be judged solely on our merits. Unfortunately, life doesn’t usually work this way, and many women are judged on their looks, even when we’re unconscious of such bias.

Most women can probably point to a time when “pretty privilege” either penalized or benefited them, but let’s focus on women in high positions at work. They’re expected to look powerful and serious, as well as approachable and attractive in a traditional sense. But not too attractive, because that’s distracting. This cliche even applies to women in the C-suite and those who aspire to it, and it costs time and money.

If you picture an average CEO, chances are you’re thinking of a white man of a certain age. He may have gray or thinning hair and a few wrinkles. He’s not young, and no one expects him to look particularly young.

But women — including CEOs and presidents — often feel pressure to pay for expensive hair treatments, skin care regimens and other beauty treatments to diminish signs of aging. What’s more, they aren’t aiming to look like J.Lo at age 54; that’s just to achieve normal “maintenance.” 

Although conventionally attractive men and women outearn their peers by about 20%, according to a 2016 study by sociologists Jaclyn S. Wong and Andrew M. Penner, women considered attractive spend more money on grooming products than attractive men do, the study found.

On average, U.S. women spend $877 per year on their looks — including hair products, skin care, makeup and manicures — compared with men’s average spending of $592 a year, according to an Advanced Dermatology study in 2023.

Anecdotally, we all know women who spend a lot more than $877 on beauty, adding Botox injections and anti-aging facial creams to their regimens. Black women, according to multiple studies, spend much more on hair treatments than most white women do.

I am not going to denigrate any woman who has treatments that make her feel good. But it is a problem when a woman is spending money on beauty because she’s worried about her job.

Plus, older age isn’t the only difficulty women encounter in the workplace. A 2023 survey of 913 women leaders conducted by Harvard Business Review found that many experienced ageism throughout their careers. Dubbed the “never-right” age bias, women under 40 are often deemed underqualified for executive roles, and older women sometimes get tagged with perceptions of being out of date or overly strident. Middle-aged women get skipped over for promotions because hiring authorities assume they have too many family responsibilities to contribute fully at work.

Looks play into these stereotypes, too. If a woman looks younger than she is, she may be treated like an inexperienced girl, and what about a woman who wants to grow out her gray hair and forgo expensive coloring treatments every eight weeks? There’s a reason many women ages 50 and older talk about feeling invisible as they age, and that certainly extends to the workplace.

Nearly everyone says they want to be judged on their abilities versus what they look like. So, let’s get a move on.