Older women = HUGE rationalization / justification to not have to lead. Plus it's an obvious buffer towards avoiding rejection.
Like West mentioned, I also fell into pattern of seeking out older women. And it was almost like a subroutine ... they are older therefore they must be more mature, experienced, stable, s3xy, etc. And there was always the same outcome. I always yielded the frame because after all they are more mature, experienced, s3xy, etc. At best I may have had the frame temporarily yet in the end, yielded to them in hopes of keeping it working.
What the 'f' does it take to break this AFC programming that [significantly] older women are somehow better. Of course, what they are best for is f-buddies - period. Pick a woman 5yrs - or better yet 10yrs+ older then follow the facts. She will most likely have had more relationships than the younger guy and if she's tooling around for younger guys she's more or less broken, set to spend the majority of her days seeking affirmation, etc, etc, etc. And he will most likely be AFC (ie insecure). Then add in that the AFC [nearly always] sees this as a relationship event.
What the younger guy should be doing is conquering his fear of rejection by approaching the younger women who appear to have more options. And when he does get dates, he should be learning to lead and observe women and he spins those plates because that experience will serve him very well when he's older and wants to select the best possible woman to have his kids (providing he still wants that when he's older).
You seek the quote around here often "Why is youth wasted on the young." The younger AFC seeking older women is a prime example of this. Instead, be the DJ when you're young. You see a s3xy older HB, then work your game and have fun with it. The DJ will know anything LTR is a waste of his precious time. And all the while his main quest will be meeting and leading and observing woman closer to his own age (and younger) so that he's an unstoppable force when he's older, wiser, wealthier, totally confident, etc.