Unemployed at 52: Stacey Duguid’s Fight to Change the Way We Work

Unemployed at 52: Stacey Duguid’s Fight to Change the Way We Work

September 10, 2026 · 1h 1m

About this episode

Stacey Duguid discusses her experience with unemployment and ageism in the workplace, sharing insights on the challenges faced by women in midlife.

Stacey Duguid had decades of experience at the highest levels of fashion and media. Then she found herself unemployed. After 16 months and more than 150 job applications—many met with silence—Stacey began to wonder if she was the problem. Then a friend gave her some shocking advice: “Botox your CV.” Take off the years of experience. Lose the senior titles. Make yourself look younger. Instead, Stacey got angry—and went public. Stacey joins Laura and Kristina to talk about the shame of unemployment, the brutal reality of ageism, how AI controls who gets seen by employers, and why so many accomplished women in midlife suddenly feel invisible.  And she explains what happened when she told the truth and thousands of women answered: Me too.

People in this episode

Hosts: Laura, Kristina

Guest: Stacey Duguid

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: In the Arena Studios, LLC, AI

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