Single mothers, seniors and college-educated women all recounted their experiences of unemployment before a packed hall aimed at helping Bermuda’s jobless females.

More than 150 appeared yesterday for the “Women Hearing Women” forum called by Progressive Labour Party MP Kim Wilson, with the hope of starting a national conversation on the topic.

With older working women hard hit by redundancies, Ms Wilson noted that “50 and 60 are the new 30 and 40” for women abruptly out of a job but still stuck with bills to pay.

One divorced single mother described her struggles trying to cover the bills she had been left sharing with her former husband’s construction firm.

Another woman, still employed, told how she was turning 65 in a few weeks’ time and fearing losing her job.

“If I have to leave my job, I don’t know if I am going to find another,” she added. “I don’t want to go on financial assistance. I’m too young.”

Many spoke of age discrimination, with employers turning away people who were willing to work but over the age of 50.

One woman, calling herself a middle-aged Bermudian, said she had trained as a nursing assistant after being made redundant in 2010.

She felt “insulted” by her treatment at the Department of Workforce Development, and let down by the number of foreign workers who were taking the same types of jobs.

Another woman over 60 said she often saw the position of caregiver advertised with ten or 12 positions attached, from cooking to cleaning outdoor furniture.

“That’s why foreigners get them,” she said. “They are willing to do ten jobs for one salary. I’m wondering if there is any way that can be regulated or looked into.”

Ms Wilson encouraged those who felt unfairly treated as Bermudian job seekers to document their concerns with the Department of Immigration.

Acknowledging that the majority of attendees were black, one woman told the gathering: “Black women know to cut corners when corners don’t exist.”

Saying she had an invention under patent, she urged those present to reflect quietly on their own possibilities for ingenuity.

An out-of-work paralegal said she worked for free to help others and “keep my mind sharp”, while the jobless mother of three young children told how she struggled to cover the cost of her baby’s formula with $500 a month from financial assistance to feed them.

Meanwhile, a newly self-employed woman urged those present to educate themselves on social media and internet skills.

“Keep the faith,” she said. “It’s not the white man, the black man or the political parties — we as people in Bermuda need to do better.”

Other practical suggestions included exploring simple vacation rental schemes or helping each other through bartering.

Calling for group collaboration to find out what needs and skills were in the room, Jewel Landy, self-employed, told them: “Once we have that, then we can come together collectively.”

Ms Wilson emphasised the need to hold more such forums, as well as for out-of-work women to help one another and pool their resources.

She urged women with ideas or thoughts to contact her at kwilson@plp.bm.