Why menopause matters to employers

`September 2022

Employers have had a lot to consider in the last few years with changing workplace attitudes towards employee diversity and inclusion, mental health and wellbeing, the latter accelerated as a result of the Covid 19 pandemic. It will not have escaped many people’s attention that the subject of menopause has been gathering momentum with regards to media coverage, government focus in relation to the impact upon employees and in relation to the overall health of women.

A survey earlier this year by the World Bank identified that the UK employs 15.5 million women (either in full time or part time roles) of which 34% are aged between 35-49 and 28% are aged 50+.  These are important statistics because the average age of perimenopause for Western women is 47.5yrs and for menopause is 51yrs, with symptoms present for a significant period of the perimenopause and into menopause. It is not uncommon for women to experience symptoms so severe as to impact upon their daily lives lasting between a few months and several years, potentially affecting their ability to carry on as normal at work. A survey has shown that 94% of respondents have experienced symptoms that negatively impacted upon their work.

Whilst employers have made great strides to ensure diverse and inclusive workforces, and to provide supportive measures for employees with mental health issues, this survey also showed that 60% of companies offered no menopause support by way of policies or procedures for their female employees. Trans and non-binary individuals’ who may also be affected, were not even acknowledged as another group for whom menopause symptoms could present difficulties. With 32% of employees contemplating leaving their jobs as a result of their menopause experience within the workplace, clearly menopause is not yet fully seen as being an integral part of an organisation’s DEI strategy.

Gartner identified that an inclusive work environment improves team performance by up to 30% and leads to overall business improvement. As inclusion means that all employees feel involved, connected, valued, respected, and treated as equals then those employees going through the menopause transition should be able to count on the support of their employers at what can be an exceptionally challenging time.

The relevance of menopause to the LGBT+ community

March 2023

Some 20 years ago, when I was in my early thirties, my older partner (now wife) started going through the menopause and I think it’s safe to say that neither of us really understood what that meant for her (or us). If you think back to that time, the broader LGBT community still faced wide discrimination, the Equalities Act 2010 was a few years away, so, as individuals, we were not afforded the same legal rights as straight single people, married or co-habiting heterosexual couples.  Neither did Cisgender women discuss their menopause experiences. Furthermore, Davina McCall, who has glamorised all things to do with menopause and has succeeded in making it a household topic, was a mere youngster in her early thirties! Roll forward 20 years and now it seems that you can’t listen to the radio, turn on the TV or read an online article without menopause being mentioned. Compared to the majority of women, my wife had a relatively easy menopause, which guaranteed me never giving my own future menopause a second thought.

For many, irrespective of age, sexuality, or gender identity, there exists a broad perception that menopause is something that only affects cis women in their late 40’s to early 50’s and that it is something they don’t need to be concerned with. Many can think “I’m too young, I’ll think about it later”; “menopause is personal and private so I won’t talk about it”; “it’s a natural part of life so I’ll just get on with it” and, of course, “it won’t affect me”. Unfortunately, menopause doesn’t discriminate and can potentially impact significantly on an individual, their “significant” other, family members and even their ability to do their job.

Studies show the average age of perimenopause* is 47.5 and it can occur naturally at any point between the ages of 36 to 49, with the average age of full menopause occurring around 51. The perimenopause can last up to 10 years, but most women will experience symptoms for between 4 and 5 years. Anecdotical evidence gained through speaking with many people in the course of my work, is that only a minority experience perimenopause free of any troublesome symptoms.  A wide range of physical and psychological symptoms (with 34 of them being widely acknowledged), come with varying degrees of severity and frequency, with no real forewarning as to when they may begin, or which ones may occur. I have spoken with many “younger” women who don’t realise that their perimenopause could begin as early as 36, and even more who aren’t aware of the diverse range of potential symptoms. When asked to name menopause symptoms the common answers are hot flushes, brain fog, weight gain and mood swings. Few seem to realise that the list of symptoms extends much further and can be as diverse as increased anxiety, depression, bloating, dry eyes or tingling sensations in hands or fingers!

We never know what health issues we may face throughout our lives and when we might have to deal with them. This brings me on to other situations biologically born women may experience which could result in an early menopause.  POI (Premature Ovarian Insufficiency) and endometriosis affect 1/100 and 1/10 women under the age of 40 in the UK respectively. Both of these conditions are not easy to diagnose, with POI resulting in perimenopausal symptoms occurring in much younger women (teens, 20s and 30s). Treatments for endometriosis can range from taking hormones to block estrogen, to a hysterectomy or oophorectomy (removal of the ovaries), which can result in the onset of menopausal symptoms for women who are already trying to deal with a chronic condition.  Additionally, in the treatment of a number of female specific cancers (such as ovarian cancer) via radiotherapy or chemotherapy, women will experience a medically induced menopause, again highlighting that age is not always the determining factor for experiencing menopause symptoms.

Great strides have been made in recent years with regards to menopause no longer being a taboo subject to discuss between friends, with family members, your employer, or for to seek medical help. However, I feel from personal experience that menopause is still seen through a heteronormative lens by most of the world, including the media and the majority of medical professionals. When you see a menopausal women represented in the mainstream media, she is usually white, appears to be middle class and quite often fits into the 40s or early 50s age bracket.  As a gay women, whenever I go to the doctors with a female health issue, there are the usual questions about contraception along with blank looks and questions about pregnancy risk when I say I don’t use any. It’s widely acknowledged that GPs haven’t historically had the greatest menopause knowledge, preventing them from helping cis straight women, so when you throw into the mix lesbians, non-binary and trans individuals it’s no surprise that as a collective group we might feel more than a little let down when trying to get help if we are struggling.     

Being menopause aware, irrespective of age, gender, sexuality, and whether they are cis women or trans individuals, will help to ensure that pre-conceived views relating to menopause are broken down.

Breaking down menopause perceptions

February 2023

For many, (including younger women, husbands, partners, and employers), there exists a broad perception that menopause is something that only affects women in their late 40’s to early 50’s and that this something they don’t need to be concerned with. Reasons given for this view include: “I’m too young, so no need to think about it now”; “menopause is a topic that is personal and private”; “it’s a natural cycle of life so you just have to get on with it” and “why do I need to know about it, it won’t impact on me”. I’m going to help explain why everyone should be menopause aware and perhaps break down some of those menopause misconceptions!

Studies show the average age of perimenopause* is 47.5 and it can occur naturally at any point between the ages of 36 to 49, with the average age of menopause itself occurring around 51. The perimenopause can last up to 10 years, but the majority of women will experience perimenopausal symptoms for between 4 and 5 years. The anecdotical evidence gained through speaking with many women in the course of my work, is that it is the minority of women who have experienced perimenopause free of any troublesome symptoms.   A wide range of physical and psychological symptoms (with 34 of them being widely acknowledged), can affect women with varying degrees of severity and frequency and with women having no real forewarning as to when they may begin, or which ones may affect them. I have spoken with many “younger” women who don’t realise that their perimenopause could begin as early as 36 and even more women who aren’t aware of the diverse range of symptoms that can occur. When asked to name menopause symptoms a majority of women mention hot flushes, brain fog, weight gain and mood swings. Few seem to realise that the list of symptoms extends much further and can be as diverse as increased anxiety, depression, bloating or tingling sensations in hands or fingers and dry eyes!

We never know what health issues we may face throughout the course of our life and when we might have to deal with them. This brings me on to other situations women may experience which could result in an early menopause.  POI (Premature Ovarian Insufficiency) and endometriosis affect 1/100 and 1/10 women under the age of 40 in the UK respectively. Both of these conditions are not easy to diagnose, with POI resulting in perimenopausal symptoms occurring in much younger women (teen’s, 20’s and 30’s). Treatments for endometriosis can range from taking hormones to block estrogen, to a hysterectomy or oophorectomy (removal of the ovaries) all of which can result in the onset of menopausal symptoms for women who are already trying to deal with a chronic condition.  Finally, in the treatment of a number of female specific cancers (such as ovarian cancer) via radiotherapy or chemotherapy, women will experience a medically induced menopause, again demonstrable of the fact that age is not always the determining factor for experiencing menopause symptoms.

As discussed above, there are a number of reasons why menopause may not just be applicable to women aged 51 or older, and there is a wide diversity and severity of symptoms that women may experience. A survey in February 2022 by Newson Health identified that 44% of women had 3 or more symptoms and were struggling to cope with these symptoms to the extent that they felt it impacted on their home and work lives. Therefore, it’s not unreasonable to assume that this will potentially be impacting upon a woman’s relationship with her spouse/partner and children. Likewise, if a woman is struggling for a prolonged period of time with symptoms that do not limit themselves only to when she is at home, then it is logical to assume that the manifestation of these symptoms may have a negative effect during a woman’s time at her place of work.

Being menopause aware, irrespective of your age, gender and your relationships with women will help to ensure that pre-conceived views relating to menopause are broken down.

(*the transition time between menopause symptoms starting and 12 months passing without a woman having a period)