Forum: We should celebrate the midlife reinvention of women

In Singapore, we often celebrate youth. We admire those who succeed quickly. But we may be overlooking another group: women who are reinventing themselves in midlife.

As someone who recently entered her 40s, I’ve noticed something quietly powerful happening among my peers. Many women I know are starting over.

They’re enrolling in university courses after decades out of school. They’re launching businesses, changing careers, writing books, learning coding, painting again, or moving to a new city to rediscover who they are.

Singapore places emphasis on lifelong learning and adaptability, especially in a changing global economy.

Yet midlife reinvention, particularly among women, is often viewed with subtle suspicion.

There’s an unspoken belief that by 40, you should have “figured it out”.

For many women, midlife is not a crisis. It is a natural pivot point after years of caregiving, career-building, or conforming to expectations.

Midlife offers a rare chance to ask: “What do I want – for me?”

Reinvention at this stage is deeply human and often requires more courage than the first round of ambition.

What we don’t talk enough about is that midlife learning often involves unlearning long-held beliefs: that ambition must be put aside after motherhood or that it’s too late to begin again.

Not everyone discovers their path at 25. Some begin again at 45, not because they are lost, but because they finally can be themselves.

Let us normalise second acts and celebrate those who rise again with wisdom and courage.

Aw Xiao Ling