Employers must do more to keep menopausal women in the workforce
The writer is the author of ‘Everything You Need to Know About the Menopause (but were too afraid to ask)’
The story of the menopause at work is the story of the decimation of women. Literally so — research shows that one in 10 working women in the UK aged 45-55 has left a job because of menopause symptoms. And it doesn’t need to be the case.
The other is that HRT is no longer the bogeywoman it once was. Scary headlines about links to breast cancer have been debunked and the UK’s health service advises that HRT’s benefits outweigh the risks for most women. New treatments that use an exact copy of a woman’s hormones lower the risks further still. And, having researched the evidence, I’d say that for women in demanding professional jobs, the benefits far outweigh the risks.
A mysterious masochism around the menopause is starting to dissipate, too. Women felt they should soldier on without HRT, when that would keep them fighting fit. When I give talks to big employers, I explain how the menopause is not just a “transition” but a long-term hormonal deficiency that actually changes the way female brains function, as the oestrogen that fuelled them drains away.
Talking to a room of employees, there is often a dawning realisation for one or two women that they’re not crazy — it’s just the menopause. Or the perimenopause, when it can be unclear what is happening because women in their forties are still having periods. Meanwhile, the men at the back of the room often seem embarrassed at first, before embracing the good news about science and HRT.
This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:Faqs of Insurances
