Now that America has voted in the oldest president ever in the U.S., how will age and decades of experience play a part in the decisions he makes for the country? And now that we have the first woman ever to hold the office of vice president, what can the female POV finally bring to the equation? With a clear stand on age and gender, Erica Baird and Karen E. Wagner, two successful lawyers (now retired) and cofounders of Lustre.net, an online community aimed at redefining retirement for modern career women and their admirers, share six tips each for Biden and Harris to unite Americans by bringing younger and older people together:


For President-Elect Biden:

1. Deploy the advantages of your age. You have many decades of political and personal experience that allow you to think big.

2. Listen to our cohort when an issue affects people 65 and over.

3. Listen to our cohort when an issue affects people 65 and under.

4. Apply your problem-solving skills to give the people what they need. Most Americans, whoever they voted for, want the same things: an end to COVID, a good job, an excellent education for their children, a secure home and three meals a day, not necessarily in that order.

5. Use your gentle diplomatic approach to bring us together. Older people remember a “United States,” and our hope is that our country can still be a nation undivided.

6. Call on older women. We shouldn’t be dismissed. We’re an untapped demographic with huge intellectual and buying power that we typically don’t flaunt. We are here to enhance. 

 
For Vice President-Elect Harris:

1. Diversity brings strength. Remember that diversity includes age.

2. Pay heed to those politicians who learned to be effective by listening to their adversaries.

3. Keep employing style to convey how a woman exercises power.

4. Channel the power of women to bring about a stronger America.

5. Break the stereotype that assertive women are “bitchy.”

6. Encourage Biden to bring younger and older Americans together to serve the country.

 

About Lustre.net

Lustre.net is an online forum founded by Erica Baird and Karen Wagner, two New York City retired attorneys. Together, Baird and Wagner are on a mission to redefine retirement for modern career women by confronting outdated concepts, defying stereotypes and raising our collective voices to ensure that retirement for all of us is shaped by women, for women. Baird and Wagner want women to “tap into our experiences and passions, forge new identities and find new purpose—and pass on what we know to the next generation.”