Across the globe, millions of women are reaching their mid-forties without having had a child. Although some are child-free by choice, many others are childless by circumstance and are struggling in a life they didn't foresee.
Most people think that women without children either "couldn't" or "didn't want to" be mothers. The truth is much more complex. Jody Day would have liked to have had children, but it didn't work out that way. At the age of 44, she realized that her quest to be a mother was at an end. She presumed that she was through the toughest part, but over the next couple of years, she was hit by waves of grief, despair, and isolation. Eventually, she found her way and created the Gateway Women Network, helping many thousands of women worldwide.
In this episode, Jody shares her perspective and tips for grieving your childless life, dealing with the stigma that surrounds women who aren't mothers, why we're seeing more childless and childfree women, and growing older without children.
Childless: A Woman’s Journey Through Life Without Children
Featuring:
Chosen as one of the BBC’s 100 Women in 2013 & awarded UK Digital Woman of the Year (2nd place) in 2021, she’s a global thought leader on female involuntary childlessness, a psychotherapist, a 2017 and 2022 TEDx speaker (with another in planning), a founding and former board member at Ageing Without Children and a former Fellow in Social Innovation at Cambridge Judge Business School.
Often referred to as the founder of the ‘childless movement’ she’s also an Ambassador for World Childless Week and an Advisor at the New Legacy Institute, an interdisciplinary think-tank dedicated to institutional and social change for non-parents. After a lifetime in London, she now lives in rural Ireland where she’s writing a novel (featuring a childless heroine of course!) and nurturing her emerging Gateway Elderwomen project.
Jody Day
JODY DAY (IE) is the 58-year-old British founder of Gateway Women, the support & advocacy network for childless women, founded in 2011. She’s the author of what many professionals consider to be the ‘go-to’ book on the topic, ‘Living the Life Unexpected: How to Find Hope, Meaning and a Fulfilling Future Without Children.'Chosen as one of the BBC’s 100 Women in 2013 & awarded UK Digital Woman of the Year (2nd place) in 2021, she’s a global thought leader on female involuntary childlessness, a psychotherapist, a 2017 and 2022 TEDx speaker (with another in planning), a founding and former board member at Ageing Without Children and a former Fellow in Social Innovation at Cambridge Judge Business School.
Often referred to as the founder of the ‘childless movement’ she’s also an Ambassador for World Childless Week and an Advisor at the New Legacy Institute, an interdisciplinary think-tank dedicated to institutional and social change for non-parents. After a lifetime in London, she now lives in rural Ireland where she’s writing a novel (featuring a childless heroine of course!) and nurturing her emerging Gateway Elderwomen project.
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