ABC boss Ita Buttrose, 80, discusses experiencing ageism in her career

Ita Buttrose is one of the most formidable women in Australian media.

But the 80-year-old ABC boss admits she has experienced ageism, but believes older people are very valuable to the workforce.

‘Are we an ageist society? Yes, I think we still are. I mean, you listen to people talk about labor shortages; Well, what’s the problem with hiring older people? It’s people’s prejudices against the elderly,” she says this week Stellar magazine.

Ita Buttrose is one of the most formidable women in Australian media. But the 80-year-old ABC boss admits she has experienced ageism, but believes older people are very valuable to the workforce. Pictured in this week’s issue of Stellar Magazine

“You hear it all the time: ‘Oh, those aren’t for schooling.’ “They’re too old.” That’s all wrong. There is plenty of evidence from abroad showing that older people can be retrained, adapt to technology and eager to learn new skills.

‘And if you train them well, they turn out to be fantastic workers. They take fewer days off than young people and they don’t spend all day texting on their phone’.

Elsewhere in the interview, Ita admitted that she is unlikely to remarry at this stage in her life.

‘Are we an ageist society? Yes, I think we still are. I mean, you listen to people talk about labor shortages; Well, what’s the problem with hiring older people? It’s people’s prejudices against the elderly,” she told Stellar Magazine this week

Ita posed for a stunning photo shoot in the magazine, wearing a striking black ensemble

“I really don’t think it’s going to happen. I’m a romantic – and even I don’t like my chances,” she said.

“But look, I’m quite happy to live my own life. You just take where life leads you. And if it surprises you, it surprises you’

Ita was previously married to Peter Sawyer from 1979 to 1980, and before that to Alasdair Macdonald between 1963 and 1976.

Elsewhere in the interview, Ita admitted she’s unlikely to remarry at this stage

She and Alasdair had two children, daughter Kate and son Ben.

“I’ve dated men since my second marriage, but haven’t been in a long-term relationship,” she said The Sydney Morning Herald in 2019.

“It would be very surprising if I got married again. I hear a lot of guys think they would do better if they invited me,” she continued.

“I’d say don’t make yourself smaller or out of the equation – I’m a woman with the same desires and feelings as any other woman.”

Read more in this week’s issue of Stellar Magazine