Opinion | Talking about menopause at work might be a game changer for women’s leadership
- Organisations need to lift the taboo and better support menopausal women at work
- Menopause can also allow women leaders to explore how to bring their whole self to work, vulnerabilities and all, demonstrating true leadership
In my work as a leadership psychologist, I have spent years studying and talking to organisations about women’s leadership. But absent from the reams of literature – as well as our workplace discussions – is any mention of the word “menopause”.
This is ironic because many women reach the height of their career and leadership capability at the same time that they enter perimenopause and menopause, often with a significant impact on their physical, cognitive and emotional well-being.
We call this the “menopause taboo” and it’s striking just how taboo it really is. It speaks to a general unease we have in organisations around the physicality of bodies, especially women’s, but also to the many ways we underplay the powerful role of emotions in how we show up at work each day.
This means that the maternity conversation, while still important, is applicable to fewer women every year. But menopause is something that every woman will face at some point in her life and career, provided she lives long enough.
And menopause brings with it significant changes in terms of how women show up. Studies show at least half of women in perimenopause and menopause report difficulty coping with their work, and about 5 per cent of women will be severely compromised by their symptoms.