Our workplaces are more complex than ever and the diversity in our workforce has thankfully increased massively over recent decades.
When we think about women navigating menopause we predominantly think of women in midlife. It’s true that the average age of a woman in the UK going through menopause, the final period, is 51 BUT this data is skewed towards white, British women.
Other Factors
We know that ethnicity influences when women go through menopause and the types of symptoms they have. Diet, lifestyle, and when we have children are some of the factors. Research from the British Menopause Society says that women of Afro-Caribbean heritage experience menopause on average at 49.6 years of age, Indian women even earlier at 46.7 years of age and Pakistani women at 47.16 years of age.
It's also important to remember that this is the average age of the final period. We know that the perimenopause may start several years before this and there are significant symptoms associated with this from brain fog, anxiety, low energy, hot flushes, and many others. It’s vital that younger women are equipped with the facts about menopause earlier in their lives, so they are empowered and equipped to manage their own menopause.
Another point to remember is menopause can happen at ANY AGE. This is known as premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) or ‘premature menopause’, if it happens before 40. Did you know:
1 in 100 experience menopause before the age of 40.
1 in 1,000 women go through menopause before 30.
1 in 20,000 before 20.
This may be caused by genetic factors, may have been prompted by medical treatment or due to undergoing a hysterectomy. These circumstances make menopause more traumatic for the woman concerned, especially if they are young, uniformed and unprepared for menopause.
We know that trans men and non-binary colleagues will go through menopause if they were assigned female at birth. Again, this can add trauma and complications to the person navigating menopause and how open they feel to talk about their experiences. In some cases, employers may not even be aware that a colleague is trans and not consider menopause an issue. This leaves the colleague feeling isolated and alone.
Lastly, we are starting to understand the neurodivergent staff (staff with autism, ADHD, Tourette Syndrome, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia, etc) may experience an intensification of their usual symptoms during the perimenopause/menopause. They may find it harder to conceal or manage their symptoms, and cope without support. Many people with autism say that sensory issues get much more intense during peri/menopause and it’s harder to mask their symptoms. Some people with ADHD are more vulnerable to cognitive symptoms during menopause due to a drop in oestrogen and dopamine which helps with our executive function. Executive function refers to goal focus, planning, memory, patience & tolerance, stress emotional control, perspective. People with ADHD may find that their symptoms are worse during the parts of their cycle when oestrogen drops. Many women get diagnosed as neurodivergent during menopause when symptoms become overwhelming and difficult to mask.
How to Support our Colleagues
People are complex and no one menopause is the same as anyone else’s. Every colleague has their own story from mental and physical health, their socio-economic and cultural background, and their life experiences to date.
To support our colleagues to be at their best and help them perform, leaders need to get to know their colleagues as humans and understand what they need. This means investing time in a relationship and building trust. When this investment is made, we create truly inclusive workplaces where people thrive.
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