Women at the Crossroads: What happens when a woman over 45 loses her job?

They are women who empower women. When they realized that women over the age of 45 are easily dismissed from their jobs and struggle to find new employment, they founded the Women at the Crossroads Association. The organization has now been active for ten years.

At the beginning of December, during a small celebration, around ten women—the founders of the Women at the Crossroads Association—marked a major milestone: ten years of work. Over the course of that decade, these volunteers have empowered more than 800 women through various educational programs, organized 304 workshops and training sessions, and provided 254 counseling and mentoring services across 17 educational cycles. All of these activities were aimed at women who represent one of the hardest-to-employ groups in Serbia’s working-age population: women over 45.

When numbers give way to lived experience, it can best be summed up by the words of Jelena, once a workshop participant and now one of the Association’s volunteers:

“When I lost my job due to workforce rejuvenation, I felt as if my world had collapsed. I blamed myself, feeling that I simply hadn’t been good enough. Out of one hundred employees who lost their jobs in that wave, sixty-four were women, all over the age of 45. At Women at the Crossroads, I realized I wasn’t alone—I felt that I belonged somewhere. I found the strength within myself and understood that no one could just erase me like a pencil mark. I created a business plan for my new employment, found a job, and when I later retired, I joined the Association.”

At the end of this year, the Women at the Crossroads Association organized a cycle of five free workshops for unemployed women over the age of 45. The first workshop was led by Radmila Marić, an HR expert and retired manager, who spoke about how employers select candidates and how to prepare for a successful job interview. In the second workshop, psychologist Vesna Bajković discussed with participants how to rebuild self-confidence, step out of invisibility, and move forward. Two workshops were led by Miloš Turinski, PR Manager at Infostud, who spoke about in-demand skills on the labor market and how to acquire them successfully, as well as about AI as a career advisor. One of the five workshops was led by Anika Šarić Marković, who worked with participants on jewelry making, awakening creativity that often disappears under stress.

What happens when a woman over 45 loses her job?

In 2015, recalls Miroslava “Mima” Perišić, President of the Association’s Board, significant layoffs and declarations of technological redundancy were observed in banks, companies, and the Chamber of Commerce. It quickly became evident that women were the first to be dismissed—specifically women aged 45 and older. At the same time, several women with extensive professional experience, including Miroslava herself, came together with the idea of forming an association and using their knowledge for the benefit of society. Very soon, the idea matured to focus on helping women who had lost their jobs and were over 45.

“We analyzed the situation and established that women of that age face serious difficulties both when being laid off and when trying to re-enter the workforce. We designed workshops aimed at restoring their self-confidence through psychological support and providing relevant information about their rights, modern job application practices, and entrepreneurship,” Miroslava explains.

By the end of that same year and the beginning of the next, pilot workshops were organized and successfully implemented entirely on a voluntary basis by renowned lecturers. Feedback and comments from participants confirmed to the founders that they were on the right path. Women at a crossroads clearly needed a place where they could feel safe and welcome, where they could connect, see that they were not alone or forgotten. Psychologists played a particularly important role in helping them lift their heads, recognize their inner strength, and begin working on a new task: finding new employment.

Along this ten-year journey, the first obstacle they encountered still exists today. All members are volunteers, and they lack the funds to permanently employ someone who could professionally manage the Association’s activities. Aside from small projects funded by international foundations or occasional engagements by other organizations to conduct workshops, their greatest support comes from individuals and companies. This most recent cycle of workshops was also realized through crowdfunding, with the community helping them raise 120,000 dinars to organize the program. They succeeded, while their long-term partner, the Human Rights House, provided the space. This is largely where institutional support ends, though the Association particularly emphasizes its successful cooperation with the academic community—whether through engaging lecturers or collaborating on publications and research.

“Based on questionnaires completed by participants after the workshops, the program and lecturers received very high ratings. Women felt better, gained ideas about next steps, and connected with one another. In that sense, the impact was clearly positive. Some women found jobs, others started their own businesses. Unfortunately, despite our efforts, we do not have complete data on how many women became employed or entrepreneurs. We are especially pleased that some women joined the Association’s work themselves, which is an additional source of motivation for us,” representatives of Women at the Crossroads told Fempiria.

In searching for answers to the question of what to do after losing a job, many women found ideas, allies, collaborators, and experts through this Association—people who helped them create strong CVs or simply empowered them to regain trust and confidence in themselves. This year’s workshop cycle included women who had never had a job, those who had lost jobs multiple times, and those who decided it was the right moment to join even though they were still formally employed. Networking, mutual inspiration, and expert guidance were what they gained—and for many women, that is often enough encouragement to move forward. In upcoming articles, we will write about the lack of state support for this hard-to-employ group, as well as about the fact that economic independence is often the only path out of domestic violence—motivated and inspired by the knowledge that women who care for other women do exist.

Autor: Katarina Milićević

Foto: Privatna arhiva