The link between menopause and gender inequity at work

By Andrea Berchowitz, co-founder and CEO of Vira Health

Of America's 500 largest companies, only 42 have female CEOs. And if you look at other countries, the data is similar and, in some cases, worse. There are a number of factors contributing to global gender inequity in the workplace and I believe that there is one factor often underecognised, and that's menopause.?

Many women will rise into senior positions of leadership in their 40s or their 50s. The average age of a CEO is mid-50s. Perimenopause, or the transition into menopause, generally occurs also between 45 and 55, which is when symptoms really start, and it can last up to 10 years. So, just as a woman is stepping up, taking the reins and earning at her highest potential, her body can feel like it's betraying her.?

What are menopause symptoms?

For anyone who doesn't know, which turns out to be many of us – I had my first conversation with my own mother about menopause in the last few years – menopause is a big deal. It’s not just a big deal for women over 45 either. Nonbinary, transmasculine and younger women may all cope with menopausal symptoms.?

Symptoms can be physical with hot flushes, joint pain, urinary incontinence and heavy periods. They can also be mental with anxiety, depression, bouts of low confidence and difficulty sleeping. Imagine going through 10 years of difficulty sleeping.?

The symptoms list is long and symptoms can change, so it means you never really know what to expect. But make no mistake, menopause symptoms are significant.?

How does menopause affect the workplace?

A study by Vodafone across five countries found that 60% of women dealing with menopausal symptoms said it impacted their work. In another study in the UK, 30% of women said they missed work due to their symptoms. At the extremes, women are making serious choices about their careers. As many as 11% forewent a promotion opportunity, and as many as 8% resigned from their positions because of menopausal symptoms.?

Trying to balance work and menopause

My fascination with female leadership and the obvious gap began as a strategy consultant working in boardrooms around the world. In over 10 years, I can count on one hand the number of senior women over 50 in executive positions that I saw, whether it was Seattle or Dubai, Lagos or upstate New York - women were scarce at the top. I started to look around and question the system I was in, wondering what opportunities really existed.?

The women at the top were exceptional. The bar seemed almost too high to reach. I started speaking to my friends and colleagues in their 40s and 50s. They talked about things I knew: balancing a serious job, teenagers and caring for elderly parents. In a few instances, close friends opened up. They talked about how their bodies and their minds were changing and the impact of menopause on many aspects of their lives, including work. It was at that point that I realised if I wanted to make a difference to women in the workplace so we can all work as long as we want to, it was to improve menopause care.?

The workplace can play a major role in improving the experience for women coping with menopausal symptoms. It might sound cliché, but it does start with awareness and then changing the physical setup of our offices, resetting expectations around work culture and updating health care policies.?

Raising awareness about menopause

Since we learn virtually nothing about menopause in school, the news or in pop culture, it's impossible to expect that even the most well-intentioned manager would have a clue how to be supportive. So many societies place so much pressure on women to appear young and happy and vibrant all of the time.?

All that effort put towards pretending that you're not going through a natural process of aging is a complete waste of time. Meanwhile, a day in the life of a menopausal woman could be running to the bathroom to wait out a hot flush, looking for paper towels for perspiration that came out of nowhere when everyone else was freezing, skipping a meeting or sending someone else, because a wave of anxiety made you feel like you couldn't cope or skipping a business trip altogether, because heavy periods made leaving home virtually impossible.?

One way to raise awareness is to bring the discussion right into the workplace. Many companies already offer training programs on things like diversity and inclusion, anti-harassment, conversations on mental health or parental leave. Let's normalise conversation on menopause, inviting people of all genders and all ages to understand what's happening in this natural process of aging, so people can learn how to be supportive.?

Changing the physical setup and expectations around work culture?

Open-plan offices are a disaster for so many reasons, not being able to control the temperature, having no doors to close when you're having a hot flush or need a moment to regroup. Of course, you can't change an entire floor plan overnight. But there probably are some things you can do, whether that's desk fans, availability of period products, letting someone move their desk from closest to the radiator or having a few rooms with a few doors that you can close if you need a moment to regroup are all good ideas.

In situations where women wear uniforms at work, updating the cut to a thinner fabric, making it more breathable or even sweat-wicking can make a huge difference to a woman's comfort, as well as having a few extra around, if a quick change is required during the day.?

For employees who can work remotely, you can make it easier by giving examples of things to say to a manager when symptoms are out of control. For example, "I'm having a really tough day due to my symptoms, and it's making it difficult for me to perform at my best in the office." In cases where that's not possible, being able to say things like, "I need to take a few more frequent breaks today rather than one long break," or "Hold on a second, I'm having a hot flush."

More openness about this topic, as well as leniency from an office around scheduling or more frequent breaks will make a huge difference to retaining women and getting them over that next promotion hurdle.?

Improving menopause care

Then there's health care, which is perhaps the most important. In many cases, a workplace will provide in-part or in-full health care to its employees. So there's an opportunity to include menopause directly. It can benefit a woman to have access to real information about what treatment options are available and what doctors or specialists she may want to see, whether that's gynecologists, endocrinologists, pelvic floor physios or talk therapists.?

Menopause is a highly complex and individualised situation, and having access to high-quality health care providers that can talk you through your treatment options and help you figure out what you want to do is critical. In many cases, insurance covers it, or the NHS does have this available, but it can be hard to navigate, and all of the symptoms make finding the right doctor time-consuming and energy-draining.?

Just as we have health care resources for what to expect when you're having a child and how to be a great parent, we need better health care resources for what to expect in perimenopause and support through the entire menopause journey.?

Every workplace is different, and not all companies will have the same approach to becoming menopause friendly. At the very least, increasing awareness and demonstrating some real empathy can be low-cost.?

Recently we've heard several corporations make announcements about boosting female leadership at the top and that's great. It will take a lot of coordinated efforts to get there. What's the first step? Getting serious about menopause.?