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Hot flashes, joint pain, anxiety, depression, difficulty sleeping — these unforgiving menopause symptoms directly impact work but often go overlooked and under-discussed as a taboo topic, says entrepreneur Andrea Berchowitz. She gives practical advice on how to create a menopause-friendly work culture that supports gender equity and diversity retention in the workplace.
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Transcriber:
Of America’s 500 largest companies,
only 42 have female CEOs.
And if you look at other countries,
the data is similar,
and in some cases, worse.
And, of course,
there are a number of factors
contributing to global gender
inequity in the workplace.
But I believe that there is one factor
often underecognized,
and that’s menopause.
So what do I mean?
Many women will rise into
senior positions of leadership
in their 40s or their 50s.
The average age of a CEO is mid-50s.
Perimenopause, or the transition
into menopause,
generally occurs also between 45 and 55.
And this is where
the symptoms really start,
and it can last up to 10 years.
So just as a woman is stepping up,
taking the reins,
earning at her highest potential,
her body can feel like it’s betraying her.
Now, for anyone who doesn’t know,
which turns out to be many of us —
for me, I had my first conversation
with my own mother about menopause
in the last few years —
it’s a big deal.
And it’s not just a big deal
for women over 45.
Nonbinary, transmasculine
and younger women
may all cope with menopausal symptoms.
So what are these symptoms?
They can be physical,
so that’s hot flushes, joint pain,
urinary incontinence, heavy periods.
They can also be mental:
anxiety, depression,
bouts of low confidence,
difficulty sleeping.
Imagine that —
10 years of difficulty sleeping.
The list is long and symptoms can change,
so it means you never really
know what to expect.
But make no mistake:
they are significant.
So significant, that in a study
by Vodafone across five countries,
it found that 60 percent of women dealing
with menopausal symptoms
said it impacted their work.
In another study in the UK,
30 percent of women said they missed work
due to their symptoms.
And at the extremes, women are making
serious choices about their careers.
As many as 11 percent forewent
a promotion opportunity,
and as many as eight percent resigned
from their positions
because of menopausal symptoms.
My fascination with female leadership
and the obvious gap
began as a strategy consultant
working in boardrooms around the world.
In over 10 years, I can count on one hand
the number of senior women over 50
in executive positions that I saw,
whether it was Seattle or Dubai,
Lagos or upstate New York,
women were scarce at the top.
I started to look around and question
the system I was in,
wonder what opportunities really existed.
The women at the top were exceptional.
The bar seemed almost too high to reach.
And so I started speaking to my friends
and colleagues in their 40s and 50s.
They talked about things I knew:
balancing a serious job, teenagers
and caring for elderly parents.
But in a few instances,
close friends opened up.
They talked about how their bodies
and their minds were changing
and the impact of menopause
on many aspects of their lives,
including work.
It was at that point that I realized
if I wanted to make a difference
to women in the workplace
so we can all work as long as we want to,
it was to improve menopause care.
I believe the workplace
can play a major role
in improving the experience for women
coping with menopausal symptoms.
And it might sound cliché,
but it does start with awareness.
And then it means changing
the physical setup of our offices,
resetting expectations around work culture
and updating health care policies.
So, first: awareness.
Since we learn virtually nothing
about menopause in school,
in the news, in pop culture,
it’s impossible to expect that even
the most well-intentioned manager
would have a clue how to be supportive.
So many societies place so much pressure
on women to appear young and happy
and vibrant all of the time.
All that effort put towards pretending
that you’re not going through
a natural process of aging
is a complete waste of time.
Meanwhile, a day in the life
of a peri- or postmenopausal woman
could be running to the bathroom
to wait out a hot flush,
looking for paper towels for perspiration
that came out of nowhere
when everyone else was freezing,
skipping a meeting
or sending someone else,
because a wave of anxiety made you feel
like you couldn’t cope
or skipping a business trip altogether,
because heavy periods made leaving
home virtually impossible.
One way to raise awareness is to bring
the discussion right into the workplace.
Many companies already
offer training programs
on things like diversity and inclusion,
anti-harassment,
conversations on mental health
or parental leave.
Let’s normalize conversation on menopause,
inviting people of all
genders and all ages
to understand what’s happening
in this natural process of aging,
so people can learn how to be supportive.
Next is the physical setup
and expectations around work culture.
For example, open-plan offices
are a disaster for so many reasons,
not being able to control the temperature,
having no doors to close
when you’re having a hot flush
or need a moment to regroup.
And, of course, you can’t change
an entire floor plan overnight.
But there probably are some
things you can do,
whether that’s desk fans,
availability of period products,
letting someone move their desk
from closest to the radiator
or having a few rooms
with a few doors that you can close
if you need a moment to regroup
are all good ideas.
In situations where women
wear uniforms at work,
updating the cut to a thinner fabric,
making it more breathable
or even sweat-wicking
can make a huge difference
to a woman’s comfort,
as well as having a few extra around,
if a quick change is required
during the day.
For employees who can work remotely,
you can make it easier by giving examples
of things to say to a manager
when symptoms are out of control.
For example, “I’m having a really
tough day due to my symptoms,
and it’s making it difficult for me
to perform at my best in the office.”
In cases where that’s not possible,
being able to say things like,
“I need to take a few more frequent
breaks today rather than one long break,”
or “Hold on a second —
I’m having a hot flush.”
I truly believe that more openness
about this topic,
as well as leniency from an office
around scheduling or more frequent breaks
will make a huge difference
to retaining women
and getting them over that next
promotion hurdle.
And then there’s health care,
which is perhaps the most important.
In many cases,
a workplace will provide in-part
or in-full health care to its employees.
So there’s an opportunity
to include menopause directly.
It can benefit a woman
to have access to real information
about what treatment options are available
and what doctors or specialists
she may want to see,
whether that’s gynecologists,
endocrinologists,
pelvic floor physios
or talk therapists.
Menopause is a highly complex
and individualized situation,
and having access to high-quality
health care providers
that can talk you through
your treatment options
and help you figure out
what you want to do
is critical.
In many cases, insurance does cover this,
or national health systems
do have this available,
but it can be hard to navigate,
and all of the symptoms make finding
the right doctor time-consuming
and energy-draining.
Just as we have health care resources
for what to expect when you’re having
a child and how to be a great parent,
we need better health care resources
for what to expect in perimenopause
and support through the entire transition.
Every workplace is different,
and not all companies will have the same
approach to becoming menopause friendly.
But at the very least,
increasing awareness and demonstrating
some real empathy can be low-cost.
Just this year, we’ve heard several
corporations make announcements
about boosting female leadership
at the top — and that’s great.
And it will take a lot of coordinated
efforts to get there.
But what’s the first step?
Getting serious about menopause.
Thank you.
Science & Technology5 years ago
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izumocore
August 4, 2021 at 4:27 pm
Maybe women should be paid not to go to work and men will pick up the slack.
STOP/RESET
August 4, 2021 at 4:35 pm
Let me guess: Straight white men are the problem?
Denny
August 4, 2021 at 4:40 pm
I’m in my late 40s and I entered peri between late 2016 and late 2017 and had my last period Dec 2018… Between then and now, hot flashes have been my primary annoyance…that, some fatigue and brain fog. Prior to covid-19 remote work from home — I was in the office regularly. And, that would mean during meetings I’d break out in hot flashes. I decided to act like it was a part of my norm. I’m hot – well, I just break out my hand fan and cool myself down — without breaking a beat. I had my colleagues and boss ask me “Are you ok?” And, I’m honest — “I’m having a hot flash…it will subside in a few… so, anyway — back to the topic….” For me, I take ownership for health — and I’m thankful that those symptoms do not affect my work to the point where I have to take time off… and I empathize with those women who have to.
I think this is a fascinating topic!
steven davies
August 4, 2021 at 4:40 pm
I agree that women in the workplace have challenges. But so do men in women-dominated fields. Teaching for example. There will never be and should never be equality of outcome. Women and Men should have the same ability/opportunity to succeed given that they can each put in the effort to do so.
H D
August 4, 2021 at 5:14 pm
You are a based man
steven davies
August 4, 2021 at 6:50 pm
@H D gee thanks. Not sure what it means but hey. Thanx anyway.
Christopher Dobney
August 4, 2021 at 4:41 pm
I enjoy you moving the goalposts from “equality” to “equity.” Just admit you think women should be paid for doing nothing.
weldsj
August 4, 2021 at 6:40 pm
Fascinating that the term is changing everywhere for good reason. Equality no longer makes any sense since 3rd wave feminism had to finally admit the idea that men and women were the same except for “plumbing” is stupid. And so, to say there are few women CEOs can be responded to with… that’s cuz they’re different. So now we talk about equity. Sort of. Men make up 95% of work place fatalities. Women arguing that by law, men should be discriminated against until women have 50% of those CEO jobs are no where to be found when speaking of the worst and most dangerous jobs that are 95% male.
j.s Varaba
August 4, 2021 at 4:46 pm
👍
Lindy Ko
August 4, 2021 at 4:48 pm
Thank you for talking about it and bringing the issue to light. ❤️
m4mario
August 4, 2021 at 5:04 pm
When men go through aging and are no longer physically or mentally fit to do the job well, they retire and find another, more relaxed job to do that fits their capabilities. They don’t demand to reduce the requirement of the job and still demand pay. Just saying.
Todd Sloan
August 4, 2021 at 5:13 pm
Any cancer link?
P L D
August 4, 2021 at 5:14 pm
Trans masculine people have menopause symptoms? No I think not.
sunny pepper
August 4, 2021 at 5:18 pm
I agree that more can be done to accomodate workers needs at different life cycles, but implicit in this analysis is a belief in meritocracy in executive and board level positions – that physical performance, gender differences in mental state such as anxiety, lack of ability to travel for reasons that reflect gender bias, etc, explain who rises to the top. Seems to me hierarchy itself is suspect. Despite how they are made to appear, promotions are largely not a function of achievement or promise of excellence – it’s more about navigating complex power networks and career momentum/luck. To the extent that gender plays a role, it’s pure and simple sexism.
Maria Wesley
August 4, 2021 at 5:26 pm
I have recently fully reached menopause! My problem was with hot flashes and I have the perfect work setting for that. A grocery store. I had my choice of either a walk in cooler or a walk in freezer, in addition to coworkers who would cover for me for the few minutes I needed.
Rawstar
August 4, 2021 at 5:33 pm
Crazy. – Start your own company leftist
shad0wrune
August 4, 2021 at 5:35 pm
It shows how backwards a “first world country” still is…
Noukz
August 4, 2021 at 6:10 pm
What do you mean by that? I’m still shocked how many dislikes are on this video… Can you explain what is your opinion on this matter?
wendetha
August 4, 2021 at 5:44 pm
To get buy in from employers, you need to add a whole section about why women who have endured menopause can be highly valuable leaders. For example, dealing with symptoms requires excellent problem solving and time management skills. It also teaches women to regulate emotions and have empathy for the struggles others face.
Dude
August 4, 2021 at 6:57 pm
Yeah, because men never go through difficult periods in their lifes…
E con
August 5, 2021 at 4:57 pm
@Dude what difficult period do men go through?
Aastha Singh
August 5, 2021 at 7:25 pm
@Dude very curious about what you said. There’s a lot of conversation about women suffering because of menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth and menopause, but nothing about natural processes that mens’ bodies go through. Would you be willing to educate us?
Joannot
August 4, 2021 at 6:29 pm
Ah yes, the snowflakes triggered by gender inequity and their beloved dislike button.
Arturo R. Heyer
August 4, 2021 at 7:36 pm
Jordan Peterson… that’s all I have to say
E con
August 5, 2021 at 5:04 pm
the incel king, ew
Thomas De Quincey
August 4, 2021 at 7:40 pm
Or…you could just sack the older woman and hire a dude (I’m joking, jeez).
C. Neal
August 4, 2021 at 7:53 pm
It seems like it would be a huge financial incentive for a pharmaceutical company to create an effective pill to deal with this!
Lynette Hannan
August 5, 2021 at 1:50 am
I agree with you wholeheartedly, but let’s look at this realistically, because it’s not going to happen very soon – it wasn’t that long ago that the medical profession believed the uterus “traveled around” inside the female body causing “hysterics”; do a google search on the origin of the word “hysteric”.
This is still a globally male dominated society where women have to do BETTER than their male counterparts, ALONG with having the normal symptoms of womanhood at the varying stages of their lives, ALONG with rearing kids and keeping house, just to attain the SAME LEVEL as their male colleagues.
Pharmaceutical companies are only interested in selling and marketing products to women to make them work toward staying young and pretty for men (and that’s a lie in and of itself anyway, because up to 80% of those products don’t work at all; and the ones that do are expensive, and have to be used constantly. The only way to stay young is to die young).
Big Pharma are not interested in helping women have better lives, because that will enable them to impinge on their male dominance. Corporate men are like two-year-olds throwing a tanty whenever they come across a woman having symptoms of being a woman, especially in the workplace (how dare we?).
Julia Nielsen
August 5, 2021 at 2:38 pm
There are tons of pills out there. Estrogen, progesterone, etc. can be given orally or vaginally to reduce symptoms. Google menopause treatments and you will get a plethora of them.
Brittiany Istre
August 4, 2021 at 8:26 pm
❤️❤️👏👏
We definitely need to help each other
Ligia Sommers
August 4, 2021 at 10:14 pm
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🙏🏻💖🌹
erika w
August 5, 2021 at 12:24 am
Thank you for talking about this! Yes, it’s a big deal and you are so right. Menopause symptoms can be debilitating.
a r
August 5, 2021 at 1:24 am
Hahaha
Master Yoda
August 5, 2021 at 3:07 am
There is a lot of competence inequality in the world too. It’s shocking how few incompetent people make it to the top in successfull positions. Please join me in the fight for competence equality. 🙏
Dennis g
August 5, 2021 at 5:18 am
Gtfo
bla blup
August 5, 2021 at 8:06 am
Sooo you are asking for much better working conditions than the current ones to improve your chances of getting a leadership position ?
I guess everyone would like to sit in a air-conditioned(naturally you can choose the temperature yourself) room with doors that you could close when you like and were you don’t sit with many other people….
K D
August 5, 2021 at 8:17 am
Guess what, there is a myriad of physical/mental problems for every gender affecting their careers, why would you choose menopause for women as if men werent more affected by cardiovascular problems, stress, height/balding bias etc, are we gonna now create and whine for every category and subcategory for “not enough CEO from this category” because mother nature is taking its course? For every gender, race or whatever there is something affecting, cant make everything equal.
E con
August 5, 2021 at 7:18 pm
sounds like you should be hosting your own Ted talk 😉
Aastha Singh
August 5, 2021 at 7:33 pm
Talk about those problems, start a comversation and come up with solutions instead of trying to shut down people when they are talking about their own problems.
K D
August 5, 2021 at 8:22 pm
@Aastha Singh like a solution why everybody cannot become a CEO as if it was some kind of basic right? Its like people making ted talks on why there is inequality in basketball and 90% of players are over 6f5 under 33 yr and we should find a solution for old and short ones just because they want
Aastha Singh
August 5, 2021 at 8:32 pm
@K D again, it’s about equality in the path that people have to walk on to reach the position. People who experience menopause have additional obstacles that aren’t necessary and can be overcome by the solutions provided in this video.
K D
August 5, 2021 at 9:10 pm
@Aastha Singh Equality? No, that is not equality, these are privileges.
Aastha Singh
August 7, 2021 at 1:08 pm
@K D it’s a privilege to have less obstacles in your path? Is that what you’re saying? And what’s the problem in trying to make that a norm? Isn’t it the point of progress to make things easier for ourselves?
Kishor Shrestha
August 5, 2021 at 9:15 am
I know these are issues we should talk about but I don’t like ted doing them. I wanted them to be trove of ideas not a platform for politics. I know that my opinion is stupid nonetheless
Nexzor
August 5, 2021 at 2:17 pm
We should care more about each other and be informed about certein mental and physical states, yes. But there is much more urgent inequity to deal with.
I got the feeling we are talking about some kind of inequality treatment far away from real inequality. Why doesn’t everyone have the same loan? Just to call something absurd: Why does an afrikan resident less likely even have the possibility to take the courses to become a CEO? Stop spending resources on the occupation question of such king-like positions and better get rid of those. Meritocracy doesn’t work, so manage a company by democracy, or at least some group of wise people and stop talking about how to arrange positions…
Renea exotic
August 5, 2021 at 8:46 pm
My menopause symptoms came on it seemed over night at 48 🙄. I couldn’t sleep for hourly hot flashes along with other symptoms. Tried dealing until I was so sleep deprived I couldn’t function. After starting hrt within a few days I haven’t had a hot flash since ❤️. Now my energy and mood hasn’t changed much but at least I’m sleeping better ❤️
CTR
August 5, 2021 at 9:53 pm
Is there possibly a feature on TED about the perils and threat of Covid-1984-vac*ines around; can’t find any….? WHY??
ಠ_ಠ
August 5, 2021 at 10:48 pm
So, when is ted showing up to the talk?
Joshua Jayy
August 5, 2021 at 10:50 pm
Great context.everyone needs more than there salary to be financially stable.the best thing to do with your money is to invest it rightly.because money left for saving always end up used with no returns.i started investing in bitcoin mid November 2020 with the help of a well-known -professional Mr Adam Walter and the profit entirely funded my recent duplex.
RedTuke Guy
August 5, 2021 at 11:23 pm
I appreciate this. As a male, this is enlightening.
andybaldman
August 6, 2021 at 1:04 am
So women should be treated equal to men, but they should be given special consideration because of a biological difference that men don’t have? Which is it?
She Her Hers M
August 6, 2021 at 1:26 am
As an HR professional and female this was insightful and knowledgeable. Thank you, open floor plans are supposed to encourage collaborative atmospheres aiding innovation, but your Ted Talk helps me to see another point of view.
Thomas De Quincey
August 7, 2021 at 4:06 am
I know. Even though open floor plans will probably benefit 90% – 95% of a workforce, they should definitely be scrapped in order to please the 5% – 10% of the workforce who are older, female and menopausal. All those non-menopausal female and male members of the workforce should remember – it’s their fault they’re not going through menopause.
She Her Hers M
August 7, 2021 at 3:05 pm
@Thomas De Quincey Thomas, Much of our workforce suffers from private health/mental conditions. Men included. Some take medications that have embarrassing and uncomfortable side effects. Think your work-bud with gas, body odor, incontinence, frequent diarrhea, lethargy, etc. It does not work for 90-95% of the population. Because she’s teaching about female issues at the workplace does mean the other gender is “threatened” in some way.
Emerald Coast Florida Homes
August 10, 2021 at 6:59 pm
I personally have always hated the open floor plans. I find them to be extremely distracting when trying to focus to get work done. In my experience, they haven’t really created that “collaborative atmosphere” that they were supposed to encourage. I like to have some solitude when I need to focus on projects.
Making People Better
August 6, 2021 at 9:49 am
Hahahahahahahaaha and she is actually serious about this nonsense
Jojoe Moto18
August 6, 2021 at 12:37 pm
All she says is BS, feminists ought to be put to death as soon as they enter the world
E con
August 11, 2021 at 2:34 pm
Only subpar men are this threatened by feminism.
ken huff
August 6, 2021 at 2:11 pm
Most companies people are machines. If I machine breaks down you replace it
Anthony J. Cooper
August 6, 2021 at 9:19 pm
Just more lies from its ilk.
CreativityZero
August 7, 2021 at 2:26 am
Have you ever thought about these issues before this video? I personally haven’t. I did know that menopause was pretty heavy and complicated, but, i didn’t know about all these symptoms and difficulties.
ong noi
August 7, 2021 at 7:52 am
aio co ai khong
Tobi Walker
August 7, 2021 at 8:40 pm
I had minimal menopause issues. I was over and done in about 18 months. There may be very few women at the top but there are a lot of women in middle management, many of them perimenopausal or menopausal, and they’d probably be more than willing to discuss it BUT if we treat it like a disability requiring accommodation, we’re playing into the traditional “women can’t be good employees because they’re at the mercy of their bodies” excuse for denying women employment. Let’s start by getting adequate healthcare for everybody and then adequate paid sick leave for everyone, so folks can take a day off if they need it without jeopardizing their jobs or their housing. But treating normal aging as disability bothers me.
Francesca
August 8, 2021 at 11:56 am
But let’s not forget that a probably even bigger issue is that if women want to have children, they have to do so before their menopause, when most successful people are focussing on their career! Men don’t have this problem, they can just work on their career until they’re 40 or 50, and then when they’ve made it they can still have kids!
Bryan A
August 8, 2021 at 12:22 pm
Women are different from men. Science could have told you this. Pressure is built for shoulders not hips. Anyone with a female manager knows that there are days when her anger or attitude is completely irrational. They said this same thing way back in the 60’s but women chose to ignore it for the last 50+ years. You cannot just ignore science. Women call in and call out far more than men for health reasons or child care issues.
MOHAMMED SALIM
August 8, 2021 at 5:30 pm
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MOHAMMED SALIM
August 8, 2021 at 5:30 pm
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Deborah Camacho
August 10, 2021 at 7:38 pm
This is wonderful to hear. I went through menopause at 40 and never heard anyone talk about the challenges openly. Thanks
M D
August 12, 2021 at 11:56 pm
Sorry but no. Women have been accomplishing many great things for hundreds of years. Pregnancy hasn’t stopped us and menopause is nothing either. I truly believe these “symptoms” are a result of misogyny. I always had heavy periods and a degree of premenstrual discomfort. I couldn’t have identified one “symptom” of menopause. My periods waned and stopped. I didn’t lose my mind. I didn’t feel useless or debilitated in any way. The “symptomizing” of completely normal experiences is an extension of our current culture of
pathologizing just about everything.