Norma Kamali — Diary of a gender advocate

Every other month I host a 30 person dinner for women leaders. Last week’s dinner was co-hosted by the legend that is Norma Kamali, and the theme: Aging With Power And Purpose. Why does society make women feel past their prime after a certain age? Why do so many women talk of feeling disposable or irrelevant past 40, especially when the evidence is to the contrary.

For example, when two MIT professors tapped into census data in 2018, they found the average age of founders behind successful technology startups is 45, and that a 50-year-old founder is twice as likely to be successful as a 30-year-old. A 60-year-old founder, meanwhile, is three times as likely to be successful.

So many women are proving the adage ‘life begins at 40’ by powering up their careers, starting new businesses and utilizing all the experience and wisdom that comes with age. Norma Kamali is a case in point and left us feeling all fired up about our next chapters. She's been in business 50 years, owns her company with no debt, met her soulmate at 65 and has a ton of amazing new creative projects in the pipeline including a new skincare line NORMALIFE. Bring it on!

Last night I hosted a talk entitled 'Women, Work and Wellness' with three incredible founders at the forefront of that industry. The health and wellness movement is a $3.7 trillion global market and has served as a route to empowerment for so many people, either as wellness entrepreneurs or just women looking build both inner and outer strength. Our speakers Norma Kamali, Melisse Gelula, co-founder of Well and Good and Jennifer Maanavi founder of Physique 57, gave some powerful advice as they described their routes to personal and business success and the deep and intrinsic value of the brands they'd built.

To quote Melisse, "we're in a powerful time in the wellness movement right now, which is adding depth to so many women's lives and serving as a path to embodiment. It's allowed subjects that were once paralyzing or shame inducing, like menstruation, breast feeding, orgasm, sexual pleasure and sexual identity to be out in the open."

See the full video on the WIE Facebook page.