Better support systems in professional environments long overdue

Over the past few decades, there has been a significant increase in women in the workforce, with an estimated 47% of the labour force now being female. And while there has been growing recognition of the importance of and support for women’s wellbeing in organisations – including on issues such as maternity leave, for instance – one taboo remains: menopause.

Leadership expert and best-selling author Debbie Goodman, CEO of Jack Hammer Global, says given the fact that a significant proportion of women in the workforce – including in senior leadership positions – fall within the menopausal range, it is long past time to normalise and destigmatise the conversation around this natural life phase.

“There is still this idea that menopause only affects ‘older’ women – in other words, not our colleagues, our managers, or most of the women we encounter during our workday,” she says.

“Simple logic dictates that this is not true, given that menopause can start to arise even from the early 40s. So in fact there is a large number of women affected by menopause, who show up every day and put in the work, while battling the physical and emotional impact of menopause in silence.”

Goodman says women need to understand that they are not alone in this, and employers need to step up to ensure that this significant part of their workforce is properly supported.

“Most workplaces have policies and support available for a wide range of wellbeing-related matters; however, menopause is rarely if ever talked about, and almost non-existent from a policy point of view,” she says.

“There is no doubt that the issue of menopause is linked to ageism, with its resultant career implications, which means that most women still do their best to hide symptoms and overcompensate, which compounds the burden of stress and anxiety. This would not be necessary if menopause was approached like any other health and wellness issue, such as pregnancy or burnout.”

Furthermore, creating an open and supportive environment for women – including during menopause – is crucial to ensure continued retention and diversity of talent.

“Losing experienced employees and top female leaders due to menopause-related issues – which could have been ameliorated through improved policies and support – is a case of taking two steps forward and three steps back.”

Goodman says as a starting point, organisations can improve awareness by educating employees and managers about menopause and its effects.

It is also important that more female leaders speak about menopause, to normalise and destigmatise the conversation around it.

“With the right support, including clinical treatment where appropriate, menopause need not put the brakes on women’s contribution in the workplace. In fact, the more open and comfortable everyone – women and men – is about talking about menopause, the greater the productivity and wellbeing of women affected by menopause will be,” says Goodman.

“It is lamentable that an entirely manageable and natural occurrence in women’s lives has not yet received the attention it deserves; but by starting to raise awareness in workplaces, and providing the necessary organisational support, we can start moving in the right direction to the benefit of both employees and organisations.”

Courtesy: Jack Hammer Africa, Africa’s largest executive search firm, with on-the-ground presence in all of its major markets