If menopause will affect half of the workforce, shouldn’t we understand it better?

The reality is that women over 50 are the fastest-growing group in the UK workforce, and around 4.5 million women aged 50 to 64 are in work right now. At any given moment, roughly 13 million women in the UK are peri- or post-menopausal, which is close to a third of the entire female population. So, for employers, menopause is a real-life workforce issue affecting some of the most experienced and senior team members.

And it starts earlier than most people assume. The average age of menopause in the UK is 51, but perimenopause and its symptoms often begin years before that, commonly from the mid-40s and sometimes from the late 30s. Around 1 in 100 women reach menopause before the age of 40. So, this isn’t a conversation for women approaching retirement, but something that affects women across a huge part of their working lives.

Manopause symptoms are far wider than the clichés suggest. We all know about hot flushes, but many don’t realise that brain fog, anxiety, disrupted sleep, low mood, joint pain and problems with memory and concentration are all very common, and these are the symptoms most likely to affect someone’s confidence and performance at work. A CIPD survey found that around three in five menopausal women were negatively affected in their jobs.

The real danger comes when the symptoms don’t get mentioned, and there is no support available for women suffering from them.  Research links menopause to large numbers of women reducing their hours, taking extended time off, or even leaving work altogether.

That last point should be a big red flag to every employer. We’re talking about women at the peak of their careers, often in leadership roles, and who are setting examples to their teams. Losing them is an avoidable loss of talent, knowledge and diversity at senior levels.

So the question is, should all workplaces have a menopause strategy? Honestly, the answer has to be yes, and it doesn’t need to be overly complicated. All that is needed are managers who feel equipped to have a supportive conversation, practical adjustments, clear signposting to help, and a workplace culture where nobody feels they have to hide what they are going through. Only around a quarter of women say their employer currently has any menopause policy or support in place, so it seems even small actions will make a welcome difference.

As we said, the positive side of this is that this used to be a taboo subject at work, and that is changing as the stigma of menopause is lifting. What leaders need now is help turning good intentions into real understanding, and that is where the right speaker can make a real difference.

Over the next couple of weeks, we will introduce three excellent speakers on our roster, each bringing something unique and important to this conversation, whether busting myths and explaining the science or building a confident, open culture where these conversations can happen easily and naturally.

Because it stands to reason that when women are supported to perform at their best, everyone benefits. If you want to bring some expert speakers to your menopause awareness events or workshops, get in touch for a chat. debbie@speakerbuzz.co.uk