NBCUniversal’s Bonnie Hammer: ‘It’s Time To Rewrite the Script on Aging’
NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment chief Bonnie Hammer has penned a forceful commentary on the issue of how aging affects women in top executive roles.
Hammer has long been one of the entertainment industry’s highest-ranking female executives. In a commentary published this week in Fortune magazine, Hammer takes aim at what she sees as the sexist conventional wisdom for women of a certain age in the corporate world. Hammer writes that recently turning 65 prompted her to reflect on her professional standing.
“To put it bluntly, I feel relevant and valuable and I am struggling to understand why, when women reach age 65, they encounter an invisible barrier of perception that says it’s time to walk away,” Hammer writes. “Shouldn’t we have a choice in the matter? Shouldn’t our experience and energy be worth more?”
Hammer adds that age and experience exert strong influence on management styles — for the better.
“Today I feel far more focused, more intuitively decisive, much less afraid to take risks. In a way, I feel like I did when I first started in this business, guided by pure excitement and agenda-free passion,” she writes. “So, in the spirit of Hollywood, it’s time to rewrite the script on aging. The stereotype that says we’re past our prime and ready to be forgotten needs to change.”
Related stories
Bonnie Hammer Talks Prejudice and Progress at UJA-Federation Fete
NBCUniversal's Bonnie Hammer Joins Board of Ebay
Live, From New York: Sprout's Morning Show For Kids Wants Celebrities In Mix
Get more from Variety and Variety411: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter
