Welcome to your weekly Boomer Women Inspiration Series

Chapter Three - Societal Influences: Having spent the first two weeks hearing directly from our Boomer Women about what makes them tick on the inside, Week Three saw us point the lens in the other direction. Across our recent activities, we asked them to consider what and who are their biggest influences when forming opinions on pertinent subjects. Through this, we are developing our understanding of how their thoughts might be shaped, potential ways to disrupt entrenched mindsets, and how paradigms may shift over time.

Having immersed ourselves in a raft of rich conversations across all types of media - new and old - we're excited to share our key takeaways from our bubbly women.

Best & Worst of the Boomer Generation

To kick things off, we asked our women to reflect on what they feel are the Best & Worst when it comes to their generation across three emotive topics: Supporting Family & Friends, Society & Politicians and Social & Charitable Causes.

"I think my generation are generally very supportive of friends and family. Most of my same-age friends do regular childcare, have supported dying elderly parents, supported ill or bereaved friends, & are always there for their adult children no questions asked." - Sally, 67-77, Married, Retired

In my generation we had more time for each other as we did not have internet and mobile phones. Conversation was everything and meeting face to face was our way of life." - Carole, 57-66, Co-Habiting, Full-time Employed

"I think communities were closer years ago when we had far less material things and were more focused on morals and core beliefs. We seem to have a closed-door policy; the more affluent we have become, the more we do not need each other!" - Ava, 57-66, Married, Long-term Sick Leave

"Social Media can in my experience be a positive or negative thing depending on who uses it. I have seen so much condemnation around national politics recently that is more visible because of access to other people's views." - Kim, 57-66, Divorced, Full-time Employed

"As a rule I think many of our generation have become disillusioned by politics over the past few decades as greater awareness and publicity has shown it to be too self-serving and many political decisions don't seem to be taken for society or the country's good." - Emma, 57-66, Married, Retired

"I think we are perceived as not having been “activists” especially in the fields of climate change and conservation but when we were younger the issues were different. When I was in my teens and early twenties we were worried about the nuclear threat and the war in Vietnam." - Mary, 67-77, Single, Retired

"People are still supportive of social causes/charities but can't give as much as they used to do because of the challenges of increased costs, etc." - Razina, 57-66, Widowed, Full-time Employed

"In our church we support and give to local and overseas missions. I think it's great to help and support whenever you can to a cause. When we give, we make room in our pocket to be given back to! If people are taught to look around their world and see the needs of others, from a young age, our hearts would soften and giving/helping would become much easier." - Vicki, 57-66, Married, Part-time Employed

"People can exploit others at times of need. There are people constantly trying to scam you. As a result it’s hard to know if certain charities are legitimate or not. Also some charities have had scandals about mismanaging monies donated. I want the money to go to the heart of the issues so the vulnerable can get help and not be exploited." - Carole, 57-66, Co-Habiting, Full-time Employed

We used this TikTok to remind our Boomer Women that The Golden Girls and the Sex & the City reboot characters were the same age, along with this Saga advert, to create a conversation about what ageing means, and who represents the epitome of it. Here are some of their most admired women:

Inner confidence and a sense of boldness makes for aspirational ageing

In an era where many feel that age-ism is the one acceptable remaining 'ism' in society, Boomer Women still mostly feel young and in their 30s in their minds. It's just the reality of their bodies and health they're fighting against. Whereas their parents were more likely to fit the 'older woman' stereotype, they don't believe it exists for them. As a result, the role models above tend to capture and exude the following aspirational facets when it comes ageing the way they want to:

• Trusting who you are and knowing yourself

• Keeping fit and looking after yourself

• Being bold and ambitious

• Knowing and Going for what you want

• Wrapping it all in mostly age appropriate behaviour

Making Your Mark

Finally, we want to wrap up this week's highlights by sharing a few quick wins to consider when it comes to marketing tips and tricks. Our Boomer Women shared some of their fantastic faves and pet peeves when it comes to communicating to their generation. Here's a snappy summary of a few key points:

"I loved this Airbnb advertisement for travelling to different cities. It makes me happy because it’s a woman on her own travelling and all the possibilities and adventure that can bring . I want to start solo travelling now that my children are older. I like the visual and colour effects on this ad. It just makes me so happy and glad that I am alive and of course it makes me want to travel more. " - Carole, 57-66, Co-habiting, Full-time Employed

"As you watch it you realise there are only middle age/older white couples. As a single woman who travels a great deal, to not see a single person travelling on their own infuriates me. And not one person of colour. It's the 21st century and this is so dated in its portrayal of travellers." - Pat, 67-77, Divorced, Self-employed

"Although I don't like Amazon particularly, I like the advert where a young man buys his widowed grandmother a helmet and takes her away on his motorcycle. I like the intergenerational story and kindness portrayed and the joy in her face." - Vicki, 57-66, Married, Part-time Employed

"It’s about periods and trying to remove the taboo about ‘Period Dramas’. I find this so iconic learning to embrace what was seen as a discomfort. It has me thinking about not being scared about talking about something because I’m concerned it could be off putting to some. It’s just knowing the best way to approach it." - Jenny, 57-66, Divorced, Part-time Employed

A Good Conversation Thought Starter

Lastly, our Charity Thought Starter. This is a small seed of an idea that we've stumbled upon that might have the potential to turn into something bigger down the line. It's something we'll be keeping our eye on throughout the remainder of the community to track its development, but wanted to share it with you now to mull over.

This week's seed is: The potential impact of current financial struggles on future donations