Jane Seymour has felt "unseen" in society.
Jane Seymour has felt unseen in spite of her fame and success
The 73-year-old actress believes that women are often devalued in society as they age, and Jane claims to have first-hand experience of so-called 'unseenism'.
Speaking about the phenomenon, she told PEOPLE: "I spoke to a lot of friends of mine and they said, ‘Yes, I am unseen, and I am unheard'. I'm on television and and people do pay attention to me more than the average person.
"Here in my household, when something breaks down, and I call up and I say, ‘Can you help me with this?’ The man will actually look over my head and find the nearest man in the room to talk to about it. It's like I'm unseen.
"Like excuse me, I own this house, I pay for it, I actually made the call to you. I am the person paying you for this information. Please respect me, and let's have the conversation."
'Unseenism' can have an impact on a woman’s health, according to Jane, who has found her own way of dealing with her anxiety.
The actress - who played Solitaire in the 1973 James Bond film 'Live and Let Die' - shared: "I get that ‘doctor's nervous’ thing, even though I'm a doctor's daughter and I played one on TV.
"I always either have someone else with me to take notes, or I've just asked for permission to record it, because I don't always take it in at the time that I'm told it. And I don't want to be told, ‘Oh, you're losing it. Maybe we should check you for dementia, or you're not listening, or you're just an older woman. That's what happens in life.'"
Tagged in Jane Seymour