How women over 40 can use personal branding to reclaim their careers

For decades, Cindy Gallop worked in the advertising industry, building brands. But at 45, she stepped away from her career and built her own. Now, at 66, she’s known as the founder of sextech, has one of the most-watched TEDx videos on YouTube, and is building her own startup, Make Love Not Porn. “I’m a great believer in using your personal brand to be your own filter. I sum up my personal brand with the tagline, ‘I like to blow shit up.’ I am the Michael Bay of business,” said Gallop.Her words could well represent the sentiments of middle-aged women the world over. Across industries, women in midlife are turning decades of hard-won expertise into public-facing personal brands. Many have found it’s one of the few forms of career capital that doesn’t depreciate with age. The Visibility Problem Personal Branding Is Solving Despite decades of experience, midlife women remain persistently underrecognized in traditional workplaces. Researchers call this “gendered ageism.” It’s the combined effect of sexism and ageism, and it leaves professional women feeling like there’s no “right age.” A 2025 global survey of women across 46 countries found that roughly 78% had encountered age-related…