Kimberley Rowley, 45, from Bromley, Greater London, had her twins in her early forties after spending decades building her career in communications. She thought she had done the right thing by waiting until her career was established before starting a family, but she was made redundant at the end of her maternity leave. Two years later, she has still not managed to secure a new role.
“Your forties are supposed to be your highest-earning years, and I’m not earning anything at all. I’m not paying anything into my pension, and I’ve got a huge mortgage. Most of us struggle in our twenties and thirties – it’s part of life. But there’s something really difficult about having your whole standard of living completely eroded in your forties,” she says. “People assume I like being a stay-at-home mum, but I don’t. I really want to get back to work”.
With a background in senior communications roles, Kimberley has been strategic in the jobs she applies for. “I’ve probably made over 70 applications and have had around five or six first-stage interviews and reached the second stage once, but I still haven’t secured a role. It’s really shocked me how difficult the job market has become. Gone are the days when you sent off your CV to a recruiter and they called you up about a job.”
