Sharon MacArthur is a leading menopause educator, and the founder of Miss Menopause. She explores the impact the menopause has on women’s career.
It’s World Menopause Day today, so it’s a great time to consider how menopause may affect your business.
Hot flushes are often associated with menopause, but it’s just one of the many unpleasant symptoms that can accompany this condition. It’s often the emotional and psychological symptoms that are the most distressing and prevent many women from carrying on as normal. The quality of life of working women can be greatly affected by anxiety, low self esteem, depression and brain fog.
Imagine you are at the peak of your career and suddenly, all of a suprise, feel unmotivated, fatigued, and lack confidence. Imagine that you can’t recall simple words, and that you are suffering from early-onset dementia. This is reality for many women.
Many women are not aware of the symptoms and don’t associate them with menopause. It can take many years for them to find the right treatment, even if they seek it. Women at all levels of business suffer in silence.
The menopause and women’s work
Around 10% of women quit their jobs because they are suffering from severe symptoms. Who can afford to lose their best employees because they are ignorant, especially since many businesses are working to reduce their pay gap to encourage more women to senior positions?
Women who are confident in their abilities but don’t feel they can stay at their job may not apply for important projects or promotions because of their lack confidence. They take a step back. Could menopause play a role in the lack of female representation at boardrooms?
Women who are menopausal are not just statistics
The impact of menopause on working women is felt by women at the top of their career. Menopause has real effects.
After 20 years of hard work, one woman who was a CEO left her job. She was so exhausted that she felt she could no longer perform. menopause never came up in her numerous visits to her doctor. She said, “I am not a dumb woman. How did I not understand what it was? She left because she felt like a fraud, and she thought she was disappointing everyone. Before she left, no one talked about menopause. Menopause is the cause. Six months later, she realised the truth.
One CEO told me that she took HRT to manage her symptoms, but her doctor advised her to stop. She told me that she had the worst year of her career and decided to quit her job at the first opportunity. Before she left, no one talked about menopause.
Last week I spoke to someone who was a former HR director. Her menopause was causing her confusion, memory loss and brain fog. She was afraid of making a wrong decision. She felt judged as the only female in her senior leadership group. She left her senior leadership team and went to work as a junior administrator because that was all she could do. Before she left, no one talked about menopause.
Here are some of the many stories I hear each day. We cannot continue to let women suffer and be in the dark, as this leads to a loss of talent within organisations.
What needs to be done?
Understand that the menopause will impact everyone, both directly and indirectly. You’re losing money and your best talent. The issue will grow as pensionable age increases, particularly when combined with an aging workforce. Can you afford to do nothing?
Menopause needs to be taken more seriously at work. This is not a sign weakness, but something that all women must face.
Senior leaders should be first to receive training. This is best done with the help of an executive sponsor. They should be role models, share their stories and integrate menopause into business plans.
training for everyone so that everyone understands and can help make menopause a business as usual. It’s not just for women.
You can repurpose the small adjustments that you make in your company for menopause. You can make use of flexible working, home-based work, and desk assessments. It’s not necessary to reinvent the wheel. Even the smallest of changes can have a big impact. What can you do to begin seeing the world from a menopause perspective? You will discover many simple solutions that are free.
