Menopause has always been around, but menopausal women are now the fastest-growing working demographic in the UK. This means that it’s more important than ever to support people and know how to. So we’ve put together this handy guide for you to share with others.  

Don’t be embarrassed, talk about menopause

You may be embarrassed to broach the subject of menopause with your headteacher or key stage leader, and that’s understandable. But you don’t need to get personal. It’s not about mentioning vaginas or unwanted hairs. 

However, sharing your symptoms if they’re worsening and impacting your work is enough to get the conversation going. This may feel particularly challenging if your head or deputy is young or male or both. But remember, the conversation may be as difficult for them too, so working together on this can be helpful. 

Here are some tips to consider:

• Be prepared – keep a diary of your symptoms and how they’re affecting you, both physically and psychologically.
• Book a meeting – let your manager know you would like to discuss a personal matter and mention it’s about menopause up front, so they have time to prepare. That way, your meeting should be given the time and discretion it deserves. If you would like someone to accompany you, you can ask for this.
• State your situation clearly – underline the importance of having their understanding and support. Don't be afraid to give some examples of how your symptoms have affected you and/or prevented you from doing your best work both inside and outside the classroom.
• Offer some solutions – your manager should work with you to provide effective support, but it's always a good idea to bring some solutions to the table, too. For example, if you're suffering from sleepless nights and find committing to the early morning briefing hard at the moment, explain this to them and ask if you can get any pertinent updates from your year group partner or key stage leader. 
• Follow up – your headteacher may need to go away and seek further advice on what you've told them. But it's still a good idea to book a follow-up session before your first meeting ends to agree on the next steps and let them know how you're progressing.

If you feel unable to talk to your headteacher, talking to another trusted person in your team or a different leader can also be helpful. Most people in a leadership position will be willing to help and support. It’s okay to choose someone you feel comfortable talking to or to ask them to be with you when talking to your manager.

Don’t suffer in silence 

Too often women suffer through menopause in silence, but it's important to know you're not alone. While each person's experience will be slightly different, chances are your friends and other colleagues are encountering similar challenges, too.

If no one is talking about it, you might be doing them a favour by starting the conversation. Not only can this be a great source of emotional support, but it's also a good way to share tips and advice. Alternatively, you could find out whether there's a Menopause Café near you. 

How can managers and organisations provide support?

The fact is women over the age of 50 represent the fastest-growing segment of the workforce.  And yet one in four menopausal women doesn't get support at work. It’s important to recognise that, in some cases, trans people go through menopause too and can experience the symptoms. So being open and inclusive to everyone and empathetic to all situations is important.

It’s not just about the person experiencing menopause either. Partners, brothers, sons, and husbands also need to talk, as this impacts everyone.  So if you’re a school leader, provide support for everyone. 

When organizations fail to listen, it can result in a toxic combination of sexism and ageism, which can put employers at risk of legal action. For example, the 2010 Equality Act (U.K.) protects workers if they are treated unfairly at work because of menopause and perimenopause.

What do working menopausal people want? 

Kings College London conducted a qualitative investigation into working women and menopause. The paper, What do working menopausal women want? A qualitative investigation into women’s perspectives on employer and line manager support explores women’s perspectives on what employers and managers should and should not do in relation to women going through menopause.   

We have put together the top four points from this paper to share with you

1. Help people understand the nature of symptoms and the potential impact of the work environment 

Everyone experiences menopause differently. Symptoms can be physical, such as hot flushes, headaches, poor sleep, and erratic periods. Or they can be psychological, such as anxiety, low mood, lack of confidence and poor concentration. 

We’ve found that most people are surprised at the range of symptoms. The FOM (Faculty of Occupational Medicine) says that almost half of women don’t seek medical advice and the majority of women don’t feel comfortable talking about menopause with their line managers. We’ve found this to be true at our awareness sessions. Therefore educating school leadership teams is a must.

2. Provide support, if needed and personalise this, one size doesn’t fit all. 

Begin with creating the right environment where everyone can talk openly about menopause if they want to. Ensure the support is as far-reaching as possible. Talk to people to find out what they would like in terms of support and engage everyone in group discussions. Get in both medical and training experts who can start the conversations.  Our Hot Damn menopause awareness workshops are fun and informative. We talk about the impact on everyone and make it about everyone. The fun element helps talk about some of the more taboo topics, whilst also being sensitive to some of the more challenging symptoms menopause brings. 

Support will vary from person to person but listening to what they need is important, as is coming to a mutual agreement. Continuous check-ins are also something to encourage - it’s not enough o have just one chat. Why not have a menopause or well-being champion in school? They could help people affected by menopause, being a point of contact if people need advice, or someone to initially talk to if people aren’t comfortable talking to their managers.

3. Communication skills are essential - school leaders must show respect, listen and take concerns seriously 

Empathy is a key factor in communication, with women from the research citing consideration and concern as something they’d expect from leaders. They asked for them to show respect, listen and take concerns seriously. Conversations should be kept strictly private. It’s seen as very important that employers do not draw any attention to a woman’s menopause or symptoms.

A number of ‘unhelpful’ things were raised in this area, including:

• Forcing women to have conversations they are uncomfortable with
• Patronising, belittling, or implying a woman is less good at her job due to menopause
• Flippant, jokey behaviour
• Using terminology such as ‘ladies’ problems’  (this is also discriminatory as excludes trans people)
• Harassing, penalising, or criticising women going through menopause
• Avoiding conversations due to a manager’s personal discomfort

4. Introduce a Menopause Policy and Training

A clear policy or guidance document will help school teams and leaders to understand how to support women experiencing menopause at work, and to avoid any potential legal issues.

Including a section on menopause in your school’s existing well-being or sickness policies is a good way to start. You may also want to consider introducing formal management training that covers the subject. This will help to improve understanding and confidence around what menopause means so leaders know what signs to look out for, how it may impact someone they manage, and what they can do to provide support.

Okay, we didn’t start on stats and facts but if you’re still not convinced that talking about menopause is a must then read on.

• Menopausal women are the fastest-growing demographic in the workforce.
• The average age for a woman to go through menopause is 51. It can be earlier than this, naturally or due to surgery or illness. And symptoms may start years before menopause, during perimenopause.
• According to the Faculty of Occupational Medicine (FOM), nearly 8 out of 10 menopausal women are at work.
• 3 out of 4 women experience symptoms, and 1 in 4 could experience serious symptoms.
• 1 in 3 of the workforce will soon be over 50, and the retirement age is now 68.
• There have already been successful employment tribunals against employers.

Get in touch with the Happy-Centred Schools team to understand more about how we can help your school and team become menopause-friendly - and let’s shout about it loudly.