Jane Seymour Slams Ageism Against Women: ‘It’s a Real, Really Large Issue’

Jane Seymour is speaking out against ageism and the idea that women have a “sell-by date.”

The 73-year-old actress is fighting back against the social phenomenon that is “unseenism,” which describes the notion that women get devalued as they age in society. “Unseenism” also often leads doctors to dismiss the medical concerns of women above a certain age.

“A lot of women, sort of [age] 50 on, just kind of hide away and expect not to be listened to or heard,” the Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman star tells People. “It’s a real, really large issue in the medical world because you have to empower women to actually stand up for their rights.”

Although she is a two-time Golden Globe winner and Emmy winner, Seymour still feels unseen not only in Hollywood but also in her day-to-day life, like when she goes to get her car repaired. That is why she joined a panel hosted by Queen Sugar star Tina Lifford as part of biopharmaceutical company Insmed’s Speak Up in BE campaign, which raises awareness about “unseenism.”

“I mean, to be perfectly honest, if I take a car in to be fixed, and there’s a guy there — usually a guy — they don’t really pay much attention,” Seymour explained. “[Or] they go, ‘Oh yeah, we need a new something —erater and another —erater.'”

She continues on, saying, “You get taken advantage of and they cheat you differently. And if I have a guy with me, they literally look over my head and talk to the guy.”

Jane Seymour in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (Tony Esparza/CBS/courtesy Everett Collection)

But the problem of “unseenism” doesn’t stop there. The former Bond girl shares that the same issues arise when she goes to a doctor’s office, explaining that women need to “make a list of what they’re going to ask the doctor, ask for permission to record it in case they forget, so that they’re not treated as sort of, ‘Oh, you’re just a menopausal woman,’ or whatever.”

She wants age to be just a number, because there are “countless women not being able to be looked after, especially when they are [dealing with] medical issues.”

According to Seymour, “Every woman I speak to…major intellectual women” has experienced “unseenism,” and that when you “stand up” against it, “you still have to do it with class and dignity.” The actress believes that “you can’t just say, ‘Hey, listen to me,'” because “It doesn’t really work, so you play this little game.”

The Wedding Crashers alum “would like to be respected and heard; I think when you get older they kind of look at you like, ‘Oh well, she’s past her prime. She’s a little old woman, she’s not important.'”

She adds, “I’m 73 and I don’t feel old. I realize that the rest of the world probably looks and goes, ‘Ohh, that’s old.’ What I want to do is redefine it.”

“It’s not old,” Seymour states. “That is wisdom on two legs.”