World Menopause Day: Let's Break the Taboo
When I joined Diageo almost three months ago, I knew I had come to the right place. The company’s commitment to inclusion and diversity is embedded in everything we do, from grain to glass. These commitments are part of Society 2030: Spirit of Progress , our 10-year action plan to help create a more inclusive and sustainable word.
Leading this agenda for Latin America and the Caribbean is a both a source of pride and a great responsibility. More than ever, companies have a huge role to play in making a change for good. And what better opportunity to talk about what we can do than today, World Menopause Day.
October 18th: World Menopause Day
World Menopause Day is dedicated to raising awareness and breaking the taboo on a subject so common that by 2030, the projected number of women experiencing menopause worldwide will be 1.2 billion. Globally, 47 million women enter this group each year.[1] On average, women in Latin America reach menopause as they approach the age of 50 , but the lead up to this can take up to 10 years and is known as perimenopause (you’re not alone if you didn’t know what this meant, 44% of women are unaware of this stage ).
Even considering both that menopause is a “universal female experience”[2] and the magnitude of these numbers, data from Mexico and Brazil tells us that almost half of women did not feel prepared for it when it happened.
Breaking the Taboo in Latin America
Menopause is such a taboo subject that its very definition is sometimes unknown. Once again, data from Mexico and Brazil tells us that 31% and 38% of women , respectively, aren’t comfortable talking about it. Menopause is part of the natural aging process which occurs when a woman’s estrogen levels decrease, and menstruation stops, marking the end of a woman’s reproductive life. It is considered early if it occurs before 45 years of age and premature when it occurs before 40. This early manifestation can be attributed to natural causes or other medical conditions.
Between 30 and 60% of women will present physical and/or psychological symptoms related to menopause, which can include:
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Now, consider that they can last for up to four years after a woman’s last period, and 1 in 10 women experience them for over 10 years. These symptoms can “have a substantial effect on the quality of life of women and on performance at the workplace.” [3]
Menopause and work
At the workplace, we can support women in this phase by speaking up and creating awareness around menopause, but that should only be the beginning. Last year, Diageo introduced our first ever global Menopause Awareness Guidelines “Thriving Through Menopause” . These are tailored to support women across the company with mechanisms such as access to counselling or mindfulness sessions through the Employee Assistance Program and Increased flexibility where needed. Earlier this year, we launched the balance+ menopause support app – the world’s first medically approved menopause health and wellbeing companion for perimenopausal and menopausal women – to all employees.
Today, Karen (Kaz) Chadwick and Margaret Logue from Diageo share their own experiences on how menopause has impacted their lives. Click here to read about them. Let’s continue raising awareness and building workplaces where people feel supported and empowered to talk about their experiences.
[1] Hill K. The demography of menopause. Maturitas. 1996 Mar;23(2):113-27. doi: 10.1016/0378-5122(95)00968-x. PMID: 8735350.
[2] Mahady, Gail & Locklear, Tracie & Doyle, Brian & Huang, Yue & Perez, Alice & Caceres, Armando. (2008). Menopause, A Universal Female Experience: Lessons from Mexico and Central America. Current Women's Health Reviews. 4. 3-8. 10.2174/157340408783572033.
[3] Monteleone, P., Mascagni, G., Giannini, A. et al. Symptoms of menopause — global prevalence, physiology and implications. Nat Rev Endocrinol 14, 199–215 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2017.180
COO at Incode Group // Business Advisor at MLPCo
1 年Patricia, I appreciate you sharing!
SOX | Business Process | Internal Audit | Finance | Project Management
2 年So important to talk about it. Thanks for the article. Not there yet, but I know it can affect us in many different ways - awareness is so much needed.
Columbia Business School Executive Coach | Perform at your Best with Ease and Flow.
2 年Patricia Prospero! Thanks for putting Menopause on the spotlight. We really need to create more awareness around this natural stage of life by talking about it in business settings and building strategies to manage it in better ways.
Great article Patricia, full of important and accessible information on this vital womens health topic.
Sr Manager - Partner and Customer Experiences at Expedia Partner Solutions
2 年Amazing Patricia! Congrats!