Menopause in Business: Why I talk about Menopause every day

Hi, I’m Kate, I’m post-Menopausal. I haven’t just been there and done it – it’s still going on.

Nearly eight years ago I was woken one night by intense hot flushes. They didn’t stop and along with many of the other symptoms associated with the Menopause, they became a way of life.

I felt very alone. Menopause had taken me from being invincible to someone who could barely get out of the front door in the morning to take my young children to school.

There followed years of managing my Menopause the natural way, usually successfully but sometimes not so, but always even in the darkest moments with a sense that I was the master of the perspective of my experience. I couldn’t control my symptoms, but I could control what happened next.

After four years and finally becoming post-Menopausal, I hoped everything would calm down. I couldn’t have been more wrong. My symptoms went into hyperdrive and spiralled out of control. I knew I needed to take action for myself, so I went to see a specialist Menopause Gynaecologist, who within an hour wrote me a prescription for HRT. I recognise that this is not an option for some women, and for others the risks however small are still too high. But for me it was life changing.

Menopause is a fact of female life. We can plan for it, but when and how it occurs is a genetic lottery. For successful women who have micromanaged their career, the loss of control can feel incredibly scary. I believe our discomfort as a society around Menopause disempowers women. Because of this we all, women and men alike, have a role in dispelling the taboo and our lingering outmoded stereotypes.

Women of average Menopausal age (49-51 depending on ethnicity) are a force to be reckoned with. Their decades of experience, knowledge and ability, partnered with a renewed focus delivered during the Menopause transition, means the return on investment for organisations during this phase is considerable. Those that recognise this will benefit not only from the contribution individuals make, but also from a diverse and inclusive culture that attracts and retains women across all age groups.

If you want to be a Menopause-enabled workplace – and why wouldn’t you? – it’s time to get in touch.