Care home residents offer up their wisdom for International Women’s Day

In honour of International Women’s Day (8 March), 12 female care home residents throughout the UK have been sharing the advice they would give to their younger selves.

The ladies, aged between 82 and 93, also shared what they think young women today should know.

The advice focused on being yourself and enjoying life to the full, with most women advising to trust yourself and strive for your dreams.

Maragaret Crowther, 91, said: “Make sure you know what you want to do, and be determined to do it.”

Anne Gallagher, 92, added: “Go for it, go for what you want to do – and give it your best shot.”

The ladies also advised compassion and humanity, with Rita Atkinson saying she’d ask women of today to ‘always be truthful, and most of all, always be kind and understanding.’

For Pam Alleyne, the most important life lesson was to remember that life is too short – she said she would advise her younger self to ‘live every moment and take each day as it comes, because nobody knows how long we’ve got.’

International Women’s Day is a global day which has been marked since 1911 and celebrates women’s achievements while calling for a more gender-balanced world.

Jacqui White, marketing director at Care UK, said: “International Women’s Day is a time to celebrate the successes and stories of women, and we want society to recognised the wealth of expertise and knowledge stored in the minds of older lades like those in our video.

“We’re proud to have created a platform on which a group of older women have shared their most valuable life lessons for young women today and hope that other individuals and organisations will follow our lead.

“It was wonderful to hear about the lives of women who lived through a social revolution, witnessing the changing attitude towards equality – but also to hear that the attitude of determination was fiercely alive in these women at a time when equality wasn’t a given.

“The residents enjoyed sharing their advice. Researching, filming and watching the video has been a really valuable reminiscence activity prompting lots of interesting conversations in our homes. It’s been wonderful for residents to share their life experiences and memories, and we hope young women today agree that their wisdom is valuable and inspiring.”

To view the life lessons video, please visit: http://www.careuk.com/care-homes/IWD

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